Becoming Vasto Lorde(Remastered)
by only4bass
Summary: Remastered Version of Devastating Consequences:Becoming Vasto Lorde. Friendships lost, and new bonds formed as the Winter War ends and Ichigo rises among the Ranks of the Espada. (Powerful, but not God-like, Ichigo) Ichigo/Harribel(Orihime thrown in to ad
1. Countdown to the Beginning V

Author's Note:  
So after careful thought, I have decided to listen to all of you, my readers, and keep the original version of this story up. Thank you for sticking around!  
Quick shout out to KratostheGodofWar for being my beta! You rock man.  
While you may not see major differences, the story flows better and countless grammar mistakes have been corrected.  
For those of you new to the Story, this takes place after chapter 361. It's slow to start, and focuses on ending the battle in an Alternate Universe Setting. For short, the war ends differently than in canon. Please note I have toughened up the Espada greatly as i believed Kubo wrongfully trolled the Espada's level of strength.  
Now please enjoy, the remastered version of: Becoming Vasto Lorde

Countdown to the Beginning V

"Sennen Hyoro," Gin Ichimaru exclaimed in mock surprise. Watching as The Tercera Espada was encased in the massive obelisk of ice. "To think Toshiro can already fight at this level. And they said I was a genius."

Tosen bowed his head down slightly, "Likewise, Sui Feng was able to land a direct hit on Barragan with her Bankai. How unfortunate."

As opposed to attempting to help their subordinates, the two Captains chose to wait for their leader to make the first move.

It was here, in the very epicenter of the chaos... the war torn battlefield... that Aizen, leader of the invading Arrancar forces, stood surrounded by the burning flames of the Captain Commander's Shikai.

Silent in his thoughts, he now sensed that his Espada were nothing short of a failure. He had simply overestimated their potential, and now, found himself with no choice but to enter the front lines himself.

"Toshiro's Hyorinmaru definitely packs a punch, wouldn't you say? Aizen-sama?" Gin asked nonchalantly, sensing Harribel's Reiatsu dropping drastically. "He froze her solid."

Aizen ignored the two. Instead, he opted to stare at the flames before him. "I never thought, that after all the trouble I put into gathering the Espada, that I alone would be more powerful than the lot of them." He conceded, more to himself than his two subordinates.

"Don't go blamin yourself on their performance. This was anticipated after all, but now I think we hit a little snag. Don't cha think?" Gin replied while he bore his usual fox grin.

"Only Starrk remains capable of fighting. Even he cannot take on Hitsugaya, Komamura, Sui Feng, Ukitake, Shunsui, and the Captain Commander alone." Tosen addressed quietly.

"I agree, Starrk shouldn't have needed to release until a much later time." Aizen spoke solemnly. His calm expression covering his irritation.

'Such a sloppy performance' Aizen thought resignedly.

The presence of Yamamoto's crushing reiatsu appearing before the Primera caused Gin to smirk. "Amazing, Starrk isn't even batting an eyelash. Nevertheless, the old man will go all out from the beginning, Starrk won't stand a chance."

"Starrk will meet the same end as his brethren if he is left to his own devices… he might as well considering he is now all alone, which is his greatest fear. Death… will be his escape from his loneliness." Tosen stated.

"Death… shall we fill the skies with the smell of it?" Aizen proposed as he held up his right index finger in front his chest and began exerting a decent amount of reiatsu.

When his hands began exerting a bright green glow, Gin cocked his head slightly to the side, "Spatial Displacement? You sure you wanna be using a forbidden Kido of that level for something as small as this? You sure are scary, Aizen-sama"

(Starrk VS. Ukitake and Shunsui – Several minutes before Aizen, Gin, and Tousen escaped the fire prison)

"Your release is pretty amazing; I didn't expect you to reveal it so easily." Shunsui said.

"I am interested in experiencing the battle capabilities of your Bankai. Will you both show me?" Starrk said while rising up from his crouched position and revealing his Resurreccion fully to both captains.

"Both? You want to face two Bankai's." Shunsui asked interestedly.

"Both? You want to battle me and Shunsui too? Sorry we don't do two on one fights." Ukitake said confusedly. 'How strong is he to think he can take on two bankai's' he thought in surprise.

The Primera slowly raise his smaller gun.

Shunsui noticed that the gun wasn't aiming at them, so he didn't bother trying to defend himself.

"You have no choice." Starrk said seriously while he pulled the trigger.

A thin black beam shot out of the gun and surged towards the two captains.

Shunsui thinking nothing of the beam as it approached his right side, keep a calm face.

Unfortunately the beam didn't stay thin. The moment it passed him the beam suddenly released a loud, echoing, screeching noise at the same time as it expanded one-hundred fold which reached just inches short of reaching the eighth division captain.

Shunsui's eyes widened as the intensity of the black beam began to scorch his arm. When the shot began to recede in size, and finally ended, Starrk lowered the gun.

Ukitake, realizing the danger the Primera now presented, quickly released his sword. 'The attack… it could have ended us if it connected…'

"All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lightning, Strike now and Become my Blade, Sogyo no Kotowari!" Ukitake exclaimed.

Starrk uninterestingly glanced at the newly released Zanpakuto as Shunsui began speaking to him.

"A black Cero" Shunsui said, his face showed one of absolute shock. He had never felt a cero like. Its intensity was incredible, but the aura of that beam was unmistakable…. It was no doubt a cero. 'I have never seen a black one before.'

"A fully powered cero, Cero Oscuras, is an Espada's cero. Only the top Espada have the ability to control and use it." Starrk explained seriously.

"Shunsui… you won't use your Bankai will you?" Ukitake asked seriously.

"No… I will eventually though."

"No, don't. You shouldn't use it out here where anyone could see."

"Unleash your Bankai Captain-san; I won't go easy on…" Starrk was interrupted by a quickly approaching Reiatsu signature.

"It seems your leader is coming."

The moment the Primera finished speaking, Yamamoto appeared before him in a flurry of flames. Flames that were hot enough to even have his own subordinates falter back.

"You're the last." The Commander told the Espada. The calmness once found in his voice now replaced with absolute authority.

Stark shrugged, "Harribel and Barragan are not to be underestimated"

"Shunsui, Ukitake stand aside. There is no need to prolong this on a second longer than it needs to be. I will turn him to ash," Yamamoto declared.

"Hai Yama-jii." Shunsui and Ukitake said in unison as the aged Captain stepped forward.

Starrk rapidly pointed his gun to Yamamoto and was about to pull the trigger when a bright green light flashed out between them, blinding everyone present.

The sound of steel clashing with steel resonated in the air and when the light finally died down,

Shunsui and Ukitake stood, Zanpakuto locked with Gin's and Tosen's

"I would prefer that you fight us as well." Aizen demanded, standing before the Captain Commander.

"My oh my, the boss decides to take the front lines. How embarrassing that you couldn't get your Espada to finish what you set out for them to accomplish, eh Aizen?" Shunsui replied calmly.

"Enough, Aizen." Ukitake snapped in annoyance. "Enough blood has been spilt. End this madness! You have already lost."

"Contrary to that thought, you lost the moment we escaped. I admit my mistake when saying I wouldn't have to lift a finger. But I will correct myself… You will lose simply because my skills surpass yours." Aizen began, his reiatsu rising.

"Say what you will, you are down to one Espada, and you three youngsters are nothing special." Yamamoto declared.

"Gin, Tosen... go." Aizen ordered.

"I'll get the Espada. No more fooling around" Shunsui stated while staring at Starrk.

"I'll take Aiz-" Ukitake was interrupted.

"No, I will take Aizen." Yamamoto commanded.

"I guess your opponent is me then." Ukitake said as he looked at Gin and Tousen.

"NO!" a booming voice bellowed.

Tousen swiftly turned around while bringing his Zanpakuto up to block the powerful blow that descended on him.

"So predictable, Komamura…" Tosen sighed

Captain of the seventh division, Sajin Komamura, growled at his former friend. "I'll fight Tousen." Komamura yelled.

"Then it's settled." Yamamoto called out. "As soon Sui Feng and Hitsugaya rest up, they will back us up. There is no time to be noble and fight one on one duels, we will risk everything for the protection of the World of the Living and the Soul Society!"

"Your captains won't be joining us." Starrk stated emotionlessly.

Suddenly everyone felt high levels of reiatsu in the vicinity that Sui Feng had fought.

Yamamoto's eyes widened, truly surprised at the reiatsu signature. 'If he's still alive... Then the other must be as well.'

(Sui Feng and Omaeda VS. Barragan - Minutes after her Bankai "obliterated" Barragan)

"It appears that the strongest one has released and Aizen has escaped, we must help them. " Sui Feng ordered weakly.

"Of course captain, but your arm, and if you insist on going you must rest. You'll only be in the way if you aren't as strong as you can be." Omaeda practically begged.

Sui Feng, who made to turn, stopped. "You're not as much of an idiot as I thought." She slowly rested her back against a building… if only for a couple minutes." She finished while taking a deep breath.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't think my Bankai would defeat him with one hit. I was lucky." She mumbled tiredly.

"I've never seen your Bankai captain, it was amazing." Her lieutenant told her, he was trying to hide the fact that he was still shaking from holding off Segunda Espada for his captain.

"You're just happy I saved you." She corrected.

"Captain why must you say that, I was worried about you." Omaeda whispered.

"Well don't be" Sui Feng winced at the reality that her arm was still causing her great pain. 'I wasn't paying attention when I was fighting, but now…'

(Minutes later)

"Captain, about your arm, there must be something you could do, Captain Unohana could," Omaeda asked.

"No, Unohana can't repair limbs, but that acquaintance of Kurosaki Ichigo's can repair my arm." Sui Feng stated as everything grew quiet for a moment.

"The smoke is still there." Omaeda said while drawing attention to the plume of smoke above them. "Is that an effect of your Bankai?"

"This is the first time I used it in actual combat, but I'm sure it's the after effects." Sui Feng said as she turned away from it. "I can't sense any reiatsu coming from it." She paused, "Look I'm going to feel guilty if I don't say this, but thanks for catching me."

"Thanks captain, I…"

As a colossal wave of reiatsu abruptly descended upon the two, their heads shot skyward; the look of pure disbelief in their eyes. It was coming from the cloud.

"Damn, this can't be. I thought he was dead, No… he was dead."

The cloud began to disappear and when most of the smoke had cleared, they could see the silhouette of the Espada facing their way, deadly still.

"C…c…c…captain can you use your Bankai again?" A frightened Omaeda asked taking a few steps back. His captain's frustrated and worry stricken face answered his question.

"I have a limit of once every hour. He won't let us stall... Not this time."

"I'll distract him again." Omaeda offered. For some reason he felt happy for his captain's compliment, maybe it was because it was a first.

The Arrancar, high above them, began to let out a hollow laugh before speaking.

"You forgot one of basic abilities we Espada have. I may have given up my regeneration for greater attack power, but an Espada can still regenerate albeit very slowly. You gave me ample time to do just that!"

'It's not that I didn't remember it, I would be foolish to not think an Espada can regenerate, it was only my assumption he had perished that clouded my judgement, and allowed me to lower my guard.' Sui Feng thought 'My Bankai...took more out of me than I care to admit.' Sui Feng realized. 'I couldn't sense him at all. Even if I could have…Omaeda'

"Yes, and you won't have a second chance." Barragan began, vanishing with Sonido

"Prepare yourself Omaeda." She told her vice-captain as they felt him approach.

"What's the plan?"

Omaeda was shaking, but put up a brave front.

"I'm thinki-"

"CAPTAIN LOOK OUT" Sui Feng's vice-captain grabbed the back of his captain's Shinigami robes and suddenly threw her, away from him with all his might. Sui Feng's eyes widened at the sudden act.

As she flew, what she saw next, she knew would haunt her forever. Barragan appeared on the exact place where she stood seconds before. Unfortunately Omaeda stood there as well.

"RUN OMAEDA." She yelled, her voice cracking.

Omaeda turned to run but the effects of the Espada's Respira took effect much faster than before.

"CAPTAIN!" Omaeda screamed, calling out for help. Sui Feng's eyes met his one last time before his skin rotted away, his bones turning to dust before even reaching the ground.

Sui Feng felt herself freeze up at what she had just seen.

'He sacrificed himself for me.' She thought weakly.

"I warned him that I would kill him." Barragan told Sui Feng

She was surprised when she felt a single tear fall from her cheek. She may not have like him, but he was still her lieutenant. It was her duty to protect him.

"You'll pay." She whispered as she slowly wiped the tear from her face.

Barragan sounded amused as reiatsu began pouring out of her body. "Oh, where did you find this strength? We Espada have studied your techniques for months leading to this invasion. Your Shunko was supposed to be incomplete."

The power that was pouring out of her body began encompassing her in a barrier of chaotic, white reiatsu.

"MUKYU SHUNKO!"

The Reiatsu she was releasing suddenly began to revolve around her body like a whirlpool, almost giving Sui Feng the appearance of butterfly wings.

"You're not very fast are you Espada? Well, you'll regret that in a moment." She said while holding up her stinger shaped Zanpakuto release. "You will die by Suzumebachi."

"Come!" Barragan ordered, "Let's see if your new form can overcome time…

Sui Feng vanished before his very eyes, and appeared twenty feet behind him less than a second.

Sui Feng, a smiled playing on her lips, took a step forward; stumbling as she did so.

"You missed Shinigami, I on the other hand… didn't." Sui Feng looked down and saw a pitch black axe sticking out of her stomach.

She slowly turned around and saw the axe was connected to a chain that the Espada held, she knew what would the moment she laid eyes on it.

"Gran Caida. Your guillotine" He pulled the chain and Sui Feng could do nothing to stop him.

'Is this the end?' she thought as she felt the hand of her opponent wrap tightly around her throat.

'Omaeda… Yuroichi-sama… I've fail. I...I'm...'

"Sui Feng... an unworthy opponent... farewell."

The last thing the Captain saw and heard before she turned to nothing but dust was the Espada's, cold, empty eyes and his cold, heartless laugh.

Baraggan made to turn, sensing that Harribel's reiatsu was almost gone, when he slowly began to revert to his pre-resurreccion form. 'What is this?' He thought when his body started to get covered in odd shaped markings and he felt his strength leave him.

After losing the strength to stand, Baraggan collapsed. His body paralyzed.

"I can't… move… how did… damn that…Captain, she did… this." He growled weakly, it was the only explanation he could think of, before pain engulfed him and he felt his life drain away.

Sui Feng, instead of accepting death, had pierced him twice in each spot that bore a mark on his body...

_**The Captain's Begin To Fall!**_


	2. Countdown to the Beginning IV

Countdown to the Beginning IV

As Hitsugaya felt Sui Feng's reiatsu vanish completely, he felt his heart constrict at the loss of his comrade. Even now, in this moment, where he felt the very life flashing before his eyes, he could see everything. The moment when Matsumoto and he first met…joining the Shinigami Academy...meeting Hinamori...becoming a Vice-Captain... then Captain... the beginning of the War… Hinamori and Matsumoto getting hurt... challenging the Tercera Espada...encasing her in his Ice Obelisk...

And now

"How?" He whispered, blood dripping down the sides of his mouth; his vision clouding as he looked over his shoulder just in time to see the remaining ice petal from his Bankai shattering.

Harribel's vibrant green eyes bore into his "It was never a matter of how i would defeat you. It was only a matter of "when". You Shinigami are foolish to think you are the only one to gain renewed strength from seeing a comrade fall."

Hitsugaya slowly turned back towards the mighty Ice structure he had created with his last attack.

Harribel's form, still visible from within the ice, suddenly "melted"

The 10th division captain's eyes widened, spitting out more blood. "You…you were able to form a water clone?"

"Your Bankai and my Resurreccion are quite similar, Captain."

Hitsugaya slowly brought his hands up, grabbing the massive shark-tooth shaped weapon Harribel had thrust into his stomach.

Without remorse, the Espada twisted the massive weapon causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees; his energy spent.

"You...you... you won't," he winced, placing a single hand on the gaping hole in his chest. His hands flickered blue for a few moments before fading. He did not even have the strength to use a low level Kido spell to stop the bleeding.

Harribel could see the Captain grow more panicked by the second, and soon was trying to draw breath into his non-existent lungs. She could see the blood draining from his face and a name playing on his lips.

"Hina...Hinam...Hinamori... Masumoto..." Tears of both anger and sadness poured down his cheeks as realization dawn on him.

He would not survive this. He had failed them.

The Espada remained silent, allowing the Captain to grieve in his final moments.

"You were not the one I wanted to kill." She whispered, "You only stood in my way. You leader... the Captain Commander, he's next."

Hitsugaya managed to spare her one final look, and she could have sworn she saw a smile playing at his lips.

She meant to ask him why he would smile, but his eyes finally closed. And once his eyes closed, the sound of Shunpo and the overpowering reiatsu of a second Captain caused Harribel's attention to shift blindingly fast.

Whichever Captain had appeared before her, was letting his killing intent well known through use of his massive reiatsu.

She acted instantly, "GRAND REY CERO!"

(Yamamoto VS. Aizen- Several Minutes Before)

The ground shaking beneath his feet, and the intense heat of Yamamoto's reiatsu, caused Aizen to glare as he watched the Level 90 Kido he had just wordlessly unleashed in an attempt to catch the Captain Commander off guard suddenly stopped in midair.

Even more surprising was that Yamamoto used his bare hands to rip the dense lightening beam of reishi right down the middle as if it was naught but paper; dispersing the violent reishi around them.

The Captain Commander, his eyes burning with rage, locked on Aizen once more.

"You impudent child, to whom do you think you have foolishly chosen to cross blades with?!" The flames surrounding him doubled in size.

Aizen glanced down at his right sleeve, it was naught but a failed reminder of what happened when he had gotten to close to Yamamoto when they first locked blades: charred remains.

"You're pretty confident, Head Captain." Aizen began, brandishing Kyoka Suigetsu, "How do you know you aren't already trapped in my illusion?"

"You think you are the first one to challenge me with abilities far beyond ones understanding of them? I can see right through your soul, boy." The mighty Shinigami pointed at Aizen, "You fear me."

For the first time since the war began, the Captain Commander could see rage pass over Aizen's face.

"Hado # 90: Kurohitsugi."

The Captain Commander stood unmoving, unaffected by the black energy surrounding him and once he was fully engulfed, the black box disintegrated into ash before Aizen's very eyes. Before the Ex-captain could react, Yamamoto used Shunpo and appear inches from him and, once again, and slashed at him.

The attack was intercepted, but the power behind the blow was enough to push Aizen back.

"I will waste no more time with you!"

Fire began poured out of his Zanpakuto, in an attempt to do the finishing blow. The captain himself stood in the center of a blazing inferno, unaffected.

Aizen's eyes widened, never having felt such raw reiatsu before.

"Burn Aiz-" he was interrupted; his eyes widening as he stopped mid attack. Aizen who was prepared to dodge said attack looked at the old man. It took him a while to figure it out, and when he did a smile appeared on his face.

Sui Feng's reiatsu suddenly disappeared.

"It appears your captain failed. No need to be so shocked, I-" Aizen was instantly cut off by the captain commander.

"Silence Aizen, every word you speak holds no meaning to me." Yamamoto clarified, overcoming his lapse of shock. Aizen stared at him for several moments, neither one saying anything until Hitsugaya's reiatsu also vanished.

"Another one, and it appears Baraggan is unable to continue fighting, but Harribel is near full health. Do you not feel remorse for allowing them to die?" Aizen asked. Yamamoto was speechless. Two of his captains died within moments of each other. He knew he couldn't lose face, but he was furious.

"Aizen, I swear, not one more shinigami will lose their life for your foolish actions!" Yamamoto roughly flicked his zanpakto to the side, and suddenly it seemed as if the air around Aizen burst into flames, though he appeared calm as he raised the hand that held his Zanpakuto.

"Bankai."

All of a sudden the blade of Kyoka Suigetsu evaporated into a thick fog before it began streaming out of Aizen's Zanpakuto hilt.

Immediately the flames that were inches from him were blown away as a thick mist descended over the area in which they fought.

Yamamoto waited for Aizen to make a move.

"You lost the moment I unleashed my Bankai..." As he spoke the mist thickened until Yamamoto could see nothing, but for someone as experienced as he was in battle, this was no problem.

"My Bankai works exactly like my Shikai, complete hypnosis, without any of its weaknesses. You merely have to be within the mist to fall under my control. This isn't all there is to my Bankai, but you won't live long enough to see anything else. It has no weakness; the mist has settled and won't be removed until I command it to."

"Ryujin Jakka: Nadegiri!" Yamamoto exclaimed with a wide wave of his Zanpakuto. Fire burst forth from the katana and attacked the immediate area in front of him to lure Aizen out, who appeared before Yamamoto ready to stab the captain.

Steel cut through flesh as Kyoka Suigetsu hit its mark; the Captain Commander's Abdomen.

Expecting to see shock, Aizen was met with a dark grin.

Yamamoto quickly clutched Aizen's wrist of the hand that held Kyoka Suigetsu. "Now I have you,"

"Are you so sure?"

"It would only be an issue if I was using my eyes to see, or skin to feel, but I will never misread the reiatsu of a Zanpakuto that has pierced my flesh. Nor will I have you think me a fool. You wouldn't dare use your Bankai, for fear of me releasing my own. This Bankai you're showing me... this fog is an illusion as well."

Aizen smirked, his eyes glancing briefly to Yamamoto's feet. An action not missed.

Yamamoto's eyes widened as black "ribbon" shot out of Aizen's free hand and began binding him instantly.

The Ex-Captain moved just as quickly, pulling Kyoka Suigetsu out and drawing blood.

By the time Yamamoto incinerated the binding's with his flames, and looked to find Aizen one more... his eyes narrowed as he found himself floating in pure darkness.

"AIZEN!"

"Bakudo # 99 Bankin." Aizen's vice echoed in the darkness. Unable to figure out where the voice came from, Yamamoto was unable to dodge and was soon entrapped by black spiritual fabric and was unable to move.

"You underestimated me."

Unable to move, Yamamoto used all of his strength to break the level 99 sealing kido.

"Let's try this again. You should be proud, I have barely perfected it. I haven't tested it on anyone else." He spoke as black energy surged from his fingertips.

Hado #90: Kurohitsugi!"

(Ukitake VS. Gin)

"How unfortunate, that it must come to this, you showed such promise, Gin." Ukitake whispered sadly, the building behind him crumbling to the ground from Gin's last attack.

A smile played on the former Captain's lips as he walked towards his former teacher.

"I have really been dealt a bad hand this time, if I am to face you now."

"You still mean to fight me?" Ukitake asked. He was shocked. He had no desire to kill him, but he knew Gin had to be stopped.

"It's been a while since you and I fought, I can hardly remember it." Gin raised his sword. "Can you?"

Ukitake smiled sadly, "You were a very hot headed child. You rushed at me, when I reprimanded Matsumoto... when she was still in the Academy. That was so long ago, and it was on that day that i jokingly named your shikai "Hyapponzashi"

"That's right, "100 swords" A clever name, one that stuck with me my entire life."

Ukitake nodded, "And I believe, it was one that day that you first used,"

Gin cut him off by finishing the sentence, "Ban...kai... Kamashini No Yari"

Before Ukitake could react; the Bankai moved faster than he could even perceive, every building within the Fake Karakura Town suddenly split in two, causing unbelievable destruction and bringing the entire city to ruin.

All with a single swipe of the Zanpakuto.

Ukitake remained unflinching, though stunned at the pure scope and range of the attack. "You have certainly extended its range, from when I first saw it."

The ground rumbled as the city came undone.

Gin smirked, "Do you know how long my Zanpakuto can extend now?"

No response.

"13km."

Ukitake's eyes widened slightly as buildings continued to crash down around them.

'Over eight miles?! From what I remember, it was only half a kilometer.'

Before he could speak, Gin released Shinso directly at him this time.

The Captain raised both of his Zanpakuto, using them both to parry the blow; the sheer power of it sent him crashing into the rubble.

Gin remained stoic as his extended blade was in a dead lock with Ukitake's Shikai.

"What's the matter Gin? Are you surprise that I was able to block your Bankai with mere Shikai?"

A grin, "You sure are creepy, Captain Ukitake."

Before either of them moved, a silence passed between them as they felt Sui Feng's reiatsu vanish on the far side of the battlefield.

"Sui Feng,"

"Oh dear, Baraggan fell in battle." Gin added absent mindedly, remaining oddly soft spoke.

Ukitake noticed a hint of sadness in Gin's voice and he had a hard time believing it was for the loss of the Segunda Espada.

"Just now, with Sui Feng dying, it made me think. Captain, can you promise me something." Ukitake looked at Gin, who was still looking towards Sui Feng. "When I die, can you… can you tell Matsumoto…I'm sorry?"

"You can tell her yourself, turn yourself in." Ukitake ordered. "No one else has to die."

"There no turnin back now." Gin raised his sword once more. It was quiet of a moment before they simultaneously felt Hitsugaya's reiatsu vanish as well.

Ukitake felt a tear roll down his cheek. "Hitsugaya too." His heart ached for his fallen comrades. "This must come to an end."

Instead of responding, Gin brandished his Bankai, aiming it directly at Ukitake's chest.

'Forgive me, Matsumoto...'

_**End**_


	3. Countdown to the Beginning III

(Countdown to the Beginning III)

(Shunsui VS Starrk)

"I have a question for you. Why do you fight for Aizen?" Shunsui questioned minutes after both Captain and Espada separated from the others.

"What makes to think I have a reason to fight?" Starrk countered, 'The time to understand one another is long gone, unfortunately'

"Because, fighting for no reason is no way to fight at all." Shunsui said while he lifted both of his zanpakto's.

Both were prepared for the other to attack instantly

"I believe I am standing before one of Souls Society's top fighters, as such you would know all about war. The moment you start to fight, you are in the wrong either way. Fighting can only lead to pain… and loneliness."

"Such wise words, but what happens now? Shall continue down this path… this path that ends with both of us in the wrong?"

"What do you think?" Starrk asked as he shot off a couple of cero's from his guns. Shunsui instinctively dodge all of them.

"I told you before, stop dodging and attack." Starrk said, albeit a little bored. Shunsui suddenly appeared before him and tried to slash him abdomen. Starrk merely blocked both attacks with the barrels of both his swords.

"OUCH! STARRK! WATCH WHAT YER" DOING!"

Shunsui's eyes widened, taken a aback that the voice had come from the guns.

"Sorry, Lilynette..." The Primera replied, "Please lend me your strength."

"Lilynette? That little girl that was with you?" Realization dawned on him, "I see."

"My guns aren't just for shooting."

Shunsui quickly looked at his blades: both were beginning to crack down the middle.

_'How did…?'_ The captain swiftly jumped away, unlocking blade from gun.

"My guns are imbedded with a type of, you can say, Hierro tougher than even my own. It shatters everything they come in contact with." Starrk explained.

"I guess I'll just have to avoid hitting your guns." Shunsui reasoned, he was about to attack when he felt Sui Feng and, a little after, Hitsugaya's reiatsu vanish.

A dark look in the Captain's eyes formed, something Starrk had seen for the first time since they had started fighting.

Silence passed between the two.

"Just now, your reiatsu fluctuated and those eyes... Is it because you felt your allies just die… or is there another reason?" Starrk asked while preparing to pull the trigger.

"I mourn the deaths of my fellow Captains, but I cannot take my focus off this battle." Shunsui replied, seemingly unaffected.

"Wise choice, Captain." Starrk said before using Sonido, unfortunately Shunsui wasn't fast enough and was sent flying when the Espada appeared before him and kicked his stomach.

In the midst of being pushed back, he saw multiple cero coming his way and barely managed to dodge them with Shunpo.

"You're extremely fast." Shunsui stated while getting into a fighting stance. "But I'm just getting started."

"After seeing what I can do… you still plan on using only your Shikai?" Stark questioned.

"I see no reason to use Bankai until I need to." Shunsui replied. "I'm hoping Katen Kyokotsu will be enough for this battle."

Suddenly Stark vanished only to appear one second later, this, resulting in Shunsui staring at the barrel of Stark's longest gun which was inches from his face.

"It appears to me that you're not taking our fight too seriously." Starrk said, while placing a finger on the trigger.

"My, oh my, I guess you're right." Shunsui answered darkly.

"So will you release your Bankai?" Starrk asked, Shunsui's face grew grim.

"No."

Shunsui swiftly moved his head to the right, just as Starrk pulled the trigger and released a cero. As the cero left the barrel of the Espada's gun, Shunsui slashed at his midsection, but only hitting air as Starrk used Sonido.

"You've suddenly became faster, I'll give you that."

"I'm sure I could go a little faster." Shunsui replied.

"Show me"

With that both vanished…

(Yamamoto VS. Aizen-Continuation)

Aizen remained still, watching as the "Black Coffin" that Kurohitsugi had created suddenly shattered.

Yamamoto remained in its center, unmoving... eerily silent.

"Even with that level of Kido... you yet still retain the shape of a human. I would expect nothing less."

Yamamoto's eyes slowly narrowed, gripping Ryujin Jakka tightly.

That subtle movement was all it took.

Suddenly the Captain Commander's body was "sliced" by countless "invisible blades" that sent blood shooting out of his body. A devastating attack that, for the first time in countless years, brought the ancient Shinigami to his knees.

His clothing in tatters, though his grip on his Zanpakuto held firm.

"To think, this was all it took to bring the great Captain Commander down," Aizen whispered, raising his hand up to unleash one more devastating attack upon Yamamoto, but froze as he looked off in the distance and saw Starrk firing a barrage of cero's at Shunsui, and far off in the distance saw the unmistakable Bankai of Komamura appear. "It shouldn't be much longer, Hado # 91! S..."

The words died as Yamamoto, apparently defeated, released a wave of flames that engulfed the two of them.

Aizen's eyes widened "How is he generating so much spiritual pressure?" To his horror, Yamamoto eyes locked on him a burning rage welling up behind his eyes as he slowly stood back up. Still fully capable of raging battle, even in his current defeated form.

"Why do you continue to fight? Your body is broken." Aizen asked as the fire around Yamamoto began to spread.

"I can't believe… I have… to use this…on you. I can't... release it fully here, but... I will give you but a taste" The captain said weakly. It was clear he was suffering from blood loss, his skin was pale, and his voice weak. "Ban…" Aizen's eye widened and quickly rose Kyoka Suigetsu to behead the Captains: it was too late. "Kai"

Aizen immediately used Shunpo to escape what was to come.

The Captain Commander was instantly engulfed in a column of fire that rose thousands of feet into the sky: its intensity causing Aizen's mouth to go dry, and his lungs to burn as he took in heated air.

"So this is your Bankai."

When the tornado of hell fire reached a hundred meters in diameter it stopped growing and started to spin even more quickly.

The Ex-Captain waited on high alert though he didn't have to wait long; from wall of fire he heard the cry of what must have been the largest bird ever.

Aizen waited. One second…two seconds…three seconds…

All of a sudden colossal wings burst forth from, and dispersed, the flaming column.

As it fully revealed itself, Aizen was left to marvel at the one hundred meter tall Phoenix made entirely of flame.

"How do you still possess the power to release your Bankai?!" Aizen asked while shielding himself from the heat the creature generated.

"I told you Aizen… Soul Society will never fall." A voice yelled out. Aizen's eyes widened as he recognized it as Yamamoto's.

"My Zanpakuto truly is the greatest of all Zanpakuto within Soul Society." Yamamoto's shouted. Aizen looked around for the aged captain but he could find nothing.

"That is your Bankai?" Aizen asked.

"This is just a fraction of its true form, boy! Zanka No Tachi Senta: Fumetsu no Fenikkusu!" The captain roared. The Phoenix shot up high into the air. The cry was so great the Aizen was blown off of the building he was standing on, though he quickly regained his bearings.

_'A fraction of his Bankai! Impossible!'_

"I have come to a realization that I must thank you for, Aizen. Your ability to orchestrate all of this... an entire war...the other Captains are not yet ready to face such opposition. They need more time, before i stand down as Captain Commander of the Gotei 13. As such, I use my Bankai's ultimate ability...the ability to overturn one's era!" Yamamoto roared.

Aizen made to use Kyoka Suigetsu, but froze when the Captain Commander appeared several feet away from him. His eyes widened as he saw something he never once could've accounted for in all of his decades of machinations. "What?!"

The captain before him was definitely the Captain Commander, but the man before him held the appearance of a middle aged man, in battle damaged clothing. He still had the features of the aged captain but where there was white hair, there was now black. The once noticeable scars that marred his body were gone and he had an overall slightly more youthful appearance.

What really gave him away were his eyes. They were the same eyes that struck terror into all those weaker than him. All those that would dare to challenge him.

"How is this possible?" Aizen said confusedly as the captain raised Ryujin Jakka.

"Ryujin Jakka gives me the greatest ability one could ask for. Once in a life time when I'm in greatest need Ryujin Jakka allows my body to revert to a time when my body was at its peak. Now…turn to ash… AIZEN!" Yamamoto yelled.

The finishing blow, a slash of such heat that Aizen feel to his knees as the intensity of the heat caused his body to actually burn from the inside. He had never felt such pain before.

The flaming Zanpakuto reached inches of almost bifurcating the Ex-Captain before stopping.

The sound of a Garganta ripping open caused that Captain Commander to look over his shoulder...

(Shunsui VS. Starrk)

"I guess this fight can't be determined by our speed." Shunsui stated after having just dodged another cero.

"Clearly." Starrk replied.

Shunsui appeared behind Stark and made to stab him. Starrk anticipated the move and parried the attack with his long barreled gun. Shunsui watched as another crack appeared on his Zanpakuto causing him to jump away from him once again.

"I've noticed, Espada, that you only shoot ceros with your long barreled gun. Why?" Shunsui asked.

"If I used both you would have died the moment I released."

"My, oh my, now who's not taking things seriously?" Shunsui stated. "Are you trying to mock me?"

"Not at all…you made me do this pain in the ass release; now you'd better show me you're Bankai!"

"I see no reason to." Shunsui replied. He suddenly lost sight of the Primera, who had just used Sonido.

"I'm getting tired of this." Starrk said while appearing behind Shunsui so that they were back to back.

"You could give up." Shunsui reasoned glancing over his shoulder.

"Not a chance." Suddenly Shunsui twisted around and slashed at the Espada, moving faster than he ever had previously, successfully cutting Starks chest albeit being a smaller cut than Shunsui intended.

Stark jumped back, surprised at the speed of the attack. Shunsui didn't give him long to recover.

"Bushogoma!" Shunsui yelled. Stark was then assaulted with a raging gust of wind that blocked his sight.

Covering his face with one hand, he used his long barreled gun to shoot a cero. Suddenly the raging wind died down.

When he was able to see again, he stared at where he shot. Shunsui stood, a good distance away from Stark, his left arm bleeding heavily.

"That was some attack, were you trying to finish me off?" Starrk asked.

"I…didn't expect you would to be able to still sense me." Shunsui said, not answering the question.

"It appears ceros are all that you can do… that's not very useful; I've seen hundreds of ceros." Shunsui stated.

"But have any ever damaged you like that?" Starrk said.

"No."

"I thought so, but since you aren't showing me you're Bankai…" Stark trailed of and raised his short barrel gun.

"Cero Metralleta."

All of a sudden a barrage of ceros simultaneously shot out for Starrk's gun. Shunsui's eyes widened as the density of the ceros made it appear as one massive cero. Shunsui knew it was too late to avoid it, not a second later Starrk watched as the captain was engulfed by the unison of several cero's.

Once he lowered his gun and stared at the area where the captain stood, which was now a giant cloud. He had felt a huge amount of spiritual pressure released from the captain the second his attack hit.

_'Come out.'_ Starrk thought to himself the same time he heard the mysterious sound of flapping wings.

With each flap the smoke began to disperse until none of it was left.

Starrk smirked at what he saw before him.

Not only was Shunsui unharmed, but right behind him was an immense creature which Starrk made out to be a Griffin. It was nearly transparent as if it was made out of the wind itself.

"Ban…kai." Shunsui whispered in a serious voice.

"So this is your Bankai?" Stark said while staring at the beast.

"Katen Kyokotsu Raioni Kaze Yajuu." Shunsui said, as the Griffin flapped its huge wings.

"Something seems off." Starrk stated.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Shunsui replied lazily

"Your reiatsu hasn't changed; doesn't a Bankai increase your reiatsu output?"

"Care to find out?" Shunsui offered. _'This guy is good, he immediately sensed this wasn't a Bankai... Though, this IS the game Katen Kyokostu chose to play. Whoever lies the best... wins.'_

Starrk preceded to shoot another barrage of ceros at Shunsui who appeared unaffected. When the cero were close enough to the target the Griffin cried out and shielded the captain with one of its massive, transparent wings. Starrk was unimpressed.

"Defense?" Starrk questioned. _'Though it looks as if it's made of wind, it's corporal'_ he thought.

"The perfect defense actually. My Bankai has the greatest defense power than any other Bankai in existence." Shunsui lied, having woven together powerful Kido spells to produce the creature. _'It won't last much longer...'_

"It seems as if that griffin is not connected to you, so it is safe to assume that if I can get you away from that thing… it will be as if you never had used Bankai."

"Good luck. Tell me…" Shunsui asked while raising his right hand. "Tell me how can you separate me from the wind?" He finished. The Griffin suddenly opened its mouth, and Starrk noticed it starting to charge an attack.

_'Damn'_ he thought as he felt the energy of the charging attack reach high enough to cause massive damage. He quickly smeared some of the blood from his chest wound on the barrel of his long gun.

"Lilynette!"

"Right! STARRK!" Lilynette shouted from the guns.

"Grand Rey Cero!" A powerful neon blue cero suddenly shot towards the Captain, yet Shunsui simply stared at the Espada's cero.

"Kazeoni Kyouten!" Shunsui yelled. The Griffin suddenly released the fully charged beam directly at Stark.

Both cero and beam crashed against each other, both beams battling for dominance in mid- air. The only reason the wind beam even stood a chance was the power of the "Game" that was being played. It didn't take long to decide a victor. The Griffin's beam broke through the Grand Rey Cero.

Annoyed, Starrk countered quickly, releasing his most devastating cero, "Cero Oscuras!" The pitch black cero roared as it exited the chamber of the gun. This time there was no contest. The black cero ripped apart the griffins beam and charged the griffin itself. Shunsui's eyes widened as the cero connected with his "Bankai". The resulting explosion rocked the very foundations of the town. Both Captain and Espada had to shield themselves from the blast that collided.

Unfortunately Starrk was closer and within the confusion Shunsui was able to use kido.

_'He defeated Kotoen Kyokotsu's game! No choice!'_ "This usually isn't the way I fight but… Bakudo # 92: Sajo Sabaku." Before he knew it the Primera Espada was trapped in spirit chains. Shunsui knew he would only have moments to work with and did the first thing that popped into his mind. He rendered the first Espada weaponless before using Shunpo to escape. As he did this he could see the other captain's battles in the distance.

Komamura's battle damaged Bankai was swinging its massive sword, further back explosions sounded where Ukitake was fighting, and most importantly, he saw a massive phoenix made of fire.

_'Yama-jii.'_ He thought quickly.

Not a moment later Starrk easily broke the chains, an impossible feat for anyone else.

"That won't change anything." Starrk snapped.

"We'll see." Shunsui replied as he held both of Starrk's guns.

"Your Bankai was weak, for a Captain...I didn't think a Bankai could be defeated so easily." Starrk responded in disappointment. Shunsui didn't reply.

"Enough. Time for me to finish this." Stark said as a black orb of reiatsu began forming in the center of his chest.

Shunsui didn't have to guess what Starrk was doing.

Starrk was charging his Cero Oscuras. Shunsui's eyes widened as he noticed this cero was more powerful and sinister than the one his gun released _'Maybe it's because he, himself, is doing it'_ He began to think of ways to escape the cero. If it hit, he knew it would be over.

What happened next was unexpected.

Starrk was about to release the cero when he heard the sound of a Garganta opening. The cero that he had charged simply vanished as he lost concentration as both captain and Espada looked at the opening Garganta.

(Center of Fake Karakura Town)

Ukitake stood amidst the rubble Gin had caused, a frown etched on his face.

"I am truly sorry it had to come to this... Gin."

Even on the verge of death, the former Captain smiled, "I... should have known... too..."

"Save your strength, Gin." Ukitake whispered, bringing his hand down on Gin to head him.

Gin grabbed his wrist, "No... don't..." he smirked, blood rolling down the sides of his mouth, "This is my sin... for failing her."

The older Captain looked at him in confusion, "What do you-"

Gin shook his head, "Please tell her... I'm sorry I," He coughed up blood, his eyes hardened, "I don't...have... Aizen… to stop." He began coughing again, "Kyoka...Suigetsu... to..."

Before he finished, his head went limp, and Ukiake was left alone with his thoughts. Anger welling up inside at the pain Aizen was causing. After closing Gin's eyes, he slowly stood up. Knowing that Yamamoto would take care of Aizen, he focused on the one Espada that no longer had an opponent.

"You're next." He whispered, drawing a deep breath. He coughed into his hand before using shunpo, his eyes narrowing at the blood he saw. "Not yet... my body can't fail me yet..." Without another word he vanished, racing towards the Espada... ignoring the pain in his lungs.

Within moments he appeared before the female Espada.

He moved quickly, using his instant reflexes to counter the yellow cero that had "predicted his arrival"

The yellow cero made a loud screeching sound as it shot out towards him. It the largest one that Ukitake had ever seen.

_'So fast'_ he thought while immediately using Shunpo and reappearing to the right of the cero.

"That was sudden." He told her as the cero died down. Ukitake unexpectedly found himself having trouble catching his breath. 'Not now' he thought worriedly.

"You didn't give me a chance to introduce myself." Ukitake said, buying himself some time to calm down. Harribel just stared at him.

"Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of Squad Thirteen." He said while raising both of his Zanpakuto.

"Tia Harribel, Tercera Espada."

"Three? So you're weaker than the other one?" Ukitake asked, talking about Starrk.

Her eyes were cold, "You still won't be a match for me."

Loud explosions were heard off in the distance, causing Ukitake to turn to see what had caused it. The source of the commotion was a torrent of ceros being shot off, compliments of Starrk.

'Shunsui' he thought worriedly, Harribel saw this.

"Worried about your ally?" She questioned, startling him out of his thoughts.

_'What was I doing, I'm in a battle'_ he reprimanded himself as he refocused his concentration on the female Espada.

"A little."

"You should concentrate on your fight with me, otherwise," She suddenly used sonido and vanished, only to appear mere inches from Ukitake's face. "You'll die."

"You should be more worried about yourself Espada." He said. Harribel's eyes suddenly narrowed as she felt something grazing her stomach. She looked down and saw both of the captain's blades digging into her.

'He's faster than I realized.' She thought in surprise.

"I'm not going to prolong this any more than i have to. All of you have angered me beyond reason." Ukitake snapped, uncharacteristically.

She quickly used sonido once again, this time appearing behind him. Ukitake tried to shunpo away but was to slow and sent rocketing up into the sky, Harribel right on his trail. When he noticed she was close enough behind him, he quickly got his baring and twisted in air and brought his blades up.

Harribel didn't expect such an attack and was barely able to bring her arms up and defend herself. Both Zanpakuto penetrated her Hierro and caused deep lacerations on her forearms.

She jumped away from him, wincing in pain.

"You're fast and far stronger than the last Captain."

Ukitake simply stared at her, his breathing ragged.

"You're out of breath… just by that?" She asked. "Maybe you aren't as strong as I initially thought"

She raised her shark-tooth like weapon and pointed it at the captain.

"La Gota."

A blast of pressurized water shot out from her blade towards Ukitake. He narrowly avoided it, but Harribel didn't stop there and followed up with a barrage of pressurized water and soon Ukitake found himself dodging a shower of water blasts. As they got harder to avoid, it didn't take long for one to actually hit him and when it did, he was sent father into the air.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon." She said before raising her weapon. All of a sudden Ukitake appeared before her, shocking the Espada, and with his wave of his blades sent a powerful torrent of water at the Espada.

"Damn it." She said as the water shot her down until she crashed into the top of a skyscraper. She quickly recovered from the attack, her body now soaking wet. She swiftly whipped her hair back before staring back at the captain, who was standing at the edge of the building.

"You know…for a woman, you should respect yourself and wear modest clothing." Ukitake commented. Harribel's eyes narrowed before rapidly raising her weapon.

"Cascada."

A surge of water shot out of her weapon, Ukitake merely side stepped the attack and waited for the water to stop.

"You are definitely strong, Espada." Ukitake said while raising his sword. Harribel stood at the ready in case he tried anything. Ukitake made to charge her; unfortunately he only took two steps before stopping. To her surprise, Ukitake dropped both swords on the building roof and fell to his knees.

'What's going on?' she thought, her eyes widening as he began coughing erratically: noticing the blood that accompanied the coughing fit.

'What's he doing? Did I do that?" she thought. It only took several more moments before Ukitake stopped coughing and weakly got back up, clutching both swords.

"I didn't take you as the kind of person that would allow your opponent to recover from a bout of his sickness, I suppose I must thank you." He said.

"Don't, if I had known what had happened I would have killed you in a second. Hope that it doesn't happen again." She said seriously.

"I see." Ukitake said while regaining his posture.

"I see no reason to continue this fight…. I'll finish it." Harribel said. She placed one of her hands on her stomach, where she was cut, and gathered the blood before raising her hand to the captain.

"Grand Rey Cero." She whispered. And for the second time during that fight the air was filled with a horrid screeching sound as the neon yellow cero shot out. Ukitake's eyes widened when realizing that this cero was twice as large as the first. _'No time to escape'_

He quickly held up both his Zanpakuto to the oncoming cero. Harribel watched as the captain was swallowed up by her cero just seconds later.

"Too bad, you seemed stronger than the other captain." Harribel said as her attack died down.

She made took take off when she felt the captains spiritual pressure appear from the cloud of dust made from her cero. She turned and saw the silhouette of the captain standing behind the wall of smoke.

"That was quite an attack." Ukitake said his form finally visible as he still held his Zanpakuto out in front of him. Harribel was impressed and surprised when she saw him unaffected by one of her greatest attacks.

Suddenly a huge ray of energy surged out of his Zanpakuto. Harribel's eyes widened at the familiarity of the attack _'is that…'_

She quickly used Sonido to escape the attack and watched the attack rushed past her and die before quickly staring at the captain.

"What was that… was that a cero?" She asked the man before her.

"I still have a thing or two up my sleeve. My Zanpakuto may seem like a primary water and lightning Zanpakuto, but that isn't the case. They certainly make a perfect conduit for water and lightning kido, but my Zanpakuto's power lies elsewhere." Ukitake stated. Without warning Harribel appeared and slashed at the captain. Ukitake winced at the force behind it as he blocked the attack. He still felt weakened by his fit earlier while she was still thinking about how he used cero.

With one of his blades, Ukitake made to slash at her neck. The Espada easily ducked, pulling her weapon back and once again tried to cut Ukitake in half this time.

Ukitake quickly vanished from her sight.

When he appeared again, he ducked as a stream of water shot out to where he previously stood. He felt Harribel approach and swung both himself and his Zanpakuto and barely blocked the Espada's strike. She suddenly began coming at him as fast as possible. Ukitake remained on the defensive. He could feel his strength draining with each second that past. It was only a matter of time before he had another fit; she was coming at him too fast.

Her attack pattern was made up of mostly Sonido and quick strikes; Ukitake's weakened state was in no condition to fight this type of agile opponent.

After several minutes of attacking, Ukitake saw an opening in her stance. 'Maybe she's weakening' he thought. He knew this could be his only chance. With the next strike, Ukitake swung both his zanpakto with all of his strength. This caused Harribel to lose, momentary, control of her large weapon. It was plenty of time for Ukitake.

"Fuzui Enko!" Ukitake yelled. Lightening surged through his blade and he swung it in an upward strike, successfully slicing Harribel from left hip to right shoulder. She gasped at the unexpected attack as blood shot out of her. On top of that she realized she couldn't move.

"Complete paralysis." He said as Harribel stood before him, completely defenseless**.**

_'Damn it'_ she thought as he rose his Zanpakuto. 'This must be another Kido, so what techniques do his Zanpakuto have?'

"The ability I used earlier, the one that looked like cero, is the true ability of my Zanpakuto. Complete mimicry. It gives me the ability to mimic any reiatsu based attack. Your Grand Rey Cero was a perfect move for me to mimic. My Zanpakuto will never forget your attack until I have it mimic another. Allow me to thank you for adding a powerful ability to my arsenal. Good bye, Espada." He finished and shot Harribel's own cero at her point blank. She could do nothing as she was quickly swallowed up by the powerful beam.

The cero surged for a while before finally stopping.

Ukitake felt relief until he was suddenly sent flying into the side of the skyscraper opposite the building he was just standing on. He groaned as he swiftly recovered and shunpo'd onto the top of the skyscraper. His eyes widened as he saw Harribel, seemingly waiting for him. Fortunately for Ukitake, she wasn't unharmed. The left side of her body was heavily injured. She was bleeding from her head, he mask fragments full of cracks, her left leg was shaking, and she was having trouble breathing now.

"My own Cero." She said weakly. Ukitake began couching, but quickly stopped.

"I'm surprised… *cough*….you survived." Ukitake said, standing on the edge of the building.

"There is no way I'd die by my own cero." She said while catching her breath.

"I guess not. Unfortunately I don't have any more time." Ukitake said, referring to his illness. His lungs were causing him extreme pain.

Ukitake quickly crossed his swords and began releasing a huge amount of spiritual pressure. Harribel's eyes widened.

"Ban…" Suddenly Ukitake stopped speaking as his chest surged with pain. He fell to his knees and began coughing up more blood than before, yet he refused to let go of his Zanpakuto.

"Ban…*cough*… *Banka*…*cough*." Ukitake tried to speak but it was no use. He stared at Harribel and automatically knew that his time was up.

She quickly used Sonido and Ukitake could do nothing when she appeared, standing over him.

"I warned you." She said suddenly grabbing the still coughing captain by his throat and held him over the edge of the building.

Ukitake was helpless.

Harribel dropped her weapon with her other hand and held that hand to the captains chest.

As she held him by his throat, he could see what must have been Tosen's Bankai engulf the entire area where he and Komamura were fighting, Shunsui confronting Starrk, and the captain commander's Bankai in all its glory.

_'Yama-jii… Shunsui... I couldn't…'_ Ukitake closed his eyes in disappointment

"Cero." Harribel whispered.

The attack was instantaneous, the cero shot right through Ukitake's chest, leaving a gaping hole.

Ukitake's eyes held a look of absolute belief before his body began to convulse.

Harribel said nothing as she released the captain and watched as Ukitake's lifeless body plummeted to the ground.

She merely closed her eyes and sensed the battles around her. Without a second thought she shot towards that last spot she has sensed her fraccion, even ignoring the Garganta that was opening in the center of town...

(Author's Note: Just to make it clear, if Ukitake hadn't fought Gin earlier and was at full strength he would have definitely been able to kill Halibel. In power, Ukitake is way stronger. Unfortunately he is sick which gives her a way greater advantage. He didn't even get to use Bankai!

On a side note, if not for the manga itself, I get the info from my story on the bleach wikia site.)

Next chapter: Aizen's Wildcard VS. The Humble Captain.

If you're curious about Yamamoto's Bankai ability it was...

Zanka No Tachi Center: Undying Phoenix


	4. Countdown to the Beginning II

(Chapter 4)

(Yammy vs Renji, Rukia, and Chad-Las Noches)

At this unexpected turn of events, all Chad, Renji, and Rukia could do was stare up at Yammy's now monstrous form that was towering over them.

"Who said the numbers of the ten Espada, went from one to ten? Our numbers go from zero to nine!" Yammy exclaimed proudly.

"His reiatsu! It's overwhelming me." Chad told Renji as he felt himself beginning to tremble and lose his balance.

"I feel so heavy." Rukia added as she momentarily stumbled, followed by Renji.

_'What can we do against an opponent of this caliber?'_ Renji thought to himself as Yammy raised his massive fist.

"I am the only Espada whose number changes when I've reached my full strength. I am the Espada Cero, Yammy Riyalgo!" He shouted, bringing his giant fist down.

"Run! We can't let his attack connect!" Renji yelled frantically to Rukia and he grabbed Chad and used Shunpo.

The giant's fist connected to the ground, which began to shake violently, resulting in a massive shockwave of wind and sand to shoot out towards the three as if the terrain was a raging sea.

Though his enemies had escaped direct impact, they had no chance to escape the wave of wind and sand that followed. They were hit dead on; sending them all crashing into large pieces of ruble that now littered the sand covered battle field.

"Like I said before, you are all I get to use this power on?!" Yammy sneered.

Being sent crashing into the ruble was indeed pain full, but the three were well enough to rise again.

"Rukia, Chad, you ok?" Renji shouted while getting up and running over to Rukia.

"Yeah, but don't worry about me, how are we going to get near enough to fight him? Can we fight him? I've never felt such terrible spiritual pressure." Rukia answered worriedly.

"He's coming…" Chad interrupted as all three of them felt the ground shift and tremble beneath them. True to Chad's words, Rukia and Renji turned to see Yammy walking towards them and due to his massive stride, he was coming at them fast.

"I won't be much help. I can barely stand when he's near. Where are the captains?" Chad said.

"If they felt this Espada's reiatsu, they should be here. We have to figure something out until they arrive… if they arrive." Rukia stated quickly. They had to think quickly, Yammy didn't have to walk far to reach them.

"We have to attack him together, I'm sure we could hit him." Renji said, trying to regain his momentarily lost balance. The ground shook beneath their feet, making it difficult to stand.

"Ha, what's this, I thought you would at least be able to a dodge an indirect hit." Yammy barked his eyes glaring down at the three. "I suppose I expected too much from you."

"We can do this together." Rukia said, slightly unsure of herself.

With that said, Renji began glowing red, his reiatsu increasing exponentially.

"We can't wait for him to do that again. Let's try to hold him off until the captain's come, we can at least try to do that." Renji shouted.

Yammy glared at those words.

"What's that? Hold me off? HA! Don't make me laugh!"

"BANKAI!" Renji roared.

Within moments the giant Baboon King Snake reared its head.

The Snake might have been large but it was in no way near as big as the Zero Espada, barely coming up to his knee. Yammy sneered and raised his hand once more.

Rukia, releasing as much reiatsu as possible, quickly jumped in to lend support.

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" Rukia yelled while holding her Zanpakuto upside down and creating a large ice ring below the rising arm.

Yammi wasn't affected at all as the large column of ice shot out of the circle and incased only a fraction of his hand; he simply raised his eyebrow and with a flick of his wrist, the ice shattered. Pointless.

Rukia quickly began chanting again, this time Chad ran up to Yammi's right leg.

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A large ice beam shot out of her blade and crashed against the Espada's abdomen, incasing a rather large portion of Yammi's stomach.

"Chad NOW!" Rukia shouted. Chad suddenly shot up on to Yammy's knee before jumping up once again to reach Yammy's ice incased stomach.

"Got it!" Chad shouted. His left arm became covered in his newest white armor and without hesitation, cocked his fist back.

"La Muerte!"He shouted as he punched the Zero Espada as hard as he could.

Upon impact, the ice shattered against Yammy's skin before crashing into the ground.

"Chad, Rukia, out of the way!" Renji yelled.

The baboon king, which had been circling Renji, shot out towards Yammy by separating its numerous segments.

"Go! Hihio Zabimaru!" Renji shouted as the snake let out a terrible roar. "Hikotsu Taiho!"

The great snake opened its wide mouth and shot out a dense blast of concentrated spiritual energy. The red blast surged towards Yammy's abdomen and hit it directly causing his upper body to be engulfed in an explosion.

"He wasn't trying to stop us. Did he even see us as a threat?" Chad asked as the smoke began to recede.

"Did it work?" Rukia questioned.

A loud booming laugh erupted from above the three fighters causing their eyes to widen.

"Did it work, you say? You honestly didn't expect me to be fazed by such a weak attack?" Yammi asked in amusement, and with a swipe of his hand the smoke blew away revealing a completely unharmed Espada.

"It didn't even scratch him." Chad commented weakly. He had used the last of his strength to attack Yammy, and now he had nothing left now.

"It must have done something." Renji said in denial as his hand tightened on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

"The captains should have been here by now." Rukia said to herself.

Right now the only possible chance for survival they had was for the captains to intervene. Unluckily, they were not able to hold off Yammy long enough for the captains to arrive.

The giant suddenly raised his foot and once again pounded it into the ground; regrettably Renji, Rukia, and Chad were much too close to the colossal Espada to escape this time.

This time the shock wave hit them point blank.

_'This… can't be.'_ Renji thought a second before being hit.

"How did he become so powerful?" Rukia shouted. Chad said nothing as the inevitable happened.

The ferociousness of the attack made the three fighters feel as if their entire bodies were suddenly crushed, he had defeated them within moments. Once again they crashed into the random bits of ruble that lay around.

Unable to move, they were forced to just lie helplessly as Yammi approached.

"Once I'm done with you, I'll take care of the punk that killed Ulquiorra." Yammi told them.

Without warning, Yammy's tail whipped around in front of him, it raised high above the three fighters. Their eyes widened as the tail came crashing down. Renji, Rukia, and Chad had the same thoughts running through their minds. _'How… is this possible?'_

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." A voiced rang out across the battlefield.

Out of nowhere an infinite number of petals shot out above the fighters and condensed into a thick column which then shot out towards the incoming tail which was mere feet from the three.

The column of flower petals did their job, successfully crashing into it and halting Yammy's tail from reaching its destination.

Yammy's eyes widened and turned his head to where the voice had come from; he didn't have to look far.

Byakuya Kuchiki suddenly appeared via Shunpo, standing on the top of a half destroyed building. Within seconds he was joined by another captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi who was followed by his lieutenant Nemu, fourth division lieutenant and seventh seat, Isane and Hanataro.

"Looks like we came just in time." Isane said. Suddenly she, Hanataro, and Nemu felt weakened as Yammy's spiritual pressure began to affect them, just like Chad, Rukia, and Renji.

"What a fascinating Arrancar. Hueco Mundo truly is a treasure trove." Mayuri said to himself while staring at the monster before him. Unlike the weaker Shinigami, Yammy's reiatsu appeared to have no effect on him or Byakuya.

After Byakuya was sure Rukia wouldn't be crushed by Yammy's tail, he noticed the zero tattoo on Yammy's shoulder. It was no wonder, his spiritual pressure didn't even compare to those they had fought previously. The reiatsu emitting from Yammy was incomprehensible.

"What is that thing, an Espada?" Isane asked. Hanataro was too frightened to speak and Nemu remained quiet.

"Just a future specimen." Mayuri answered uncaringly, seemingly ignoring everyone but the Arrancar before him.

"Lieutenant Kotetsu, Hanataro, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, get Rukia and the others, then get them as far back as possible." Byakuya ordered.

"Captain?" Nemu asked towards Mayuri.

Mayuri nodded. "Go Nemu, I guess Kuchiki needs only my help, we will deal with the Espada alone. He said. With that said, the three Shinigami took off towards their injured comrades.

"I need your help no more than you need my help." Byakuya countered calmly when the Shinigami left. He knew this was one opponent he could not face at half strength so he was slightly relieved he was back at full power, due to Isane's healing.

"If that's the case… you can leave now." Kurotsuchi said while pulling out his Zanpakuto. Byakuya simply ignored him.

"AHHH! Captains! Perhaps you can offer me a proper warm-up?" Yammy shouted happily.

"I see no reason to answer you." Byakuya stated as his Bankai returned and began circling him.

"Specimens shouldn't ask questions." Mayuri agreed.

"So you wish to fight me, just you two?!" Yammy laughed out

Suddenly they all felt a huge amount of spiritual pressure coming their way and Yammy let out a mighty wail.

Both Captain's looked above them; Yammy's tail had been cut clean in half.

"Great the barbarian is here." Mayuri commented dryly. Byakuya just kept his eyes on the Espada, sizing him up, his Bankai circling around him faster than before.

Zaraki silhouette appeared within the dust as Yammi spun around to see who had landed the blow.

"Looks like you beat me. It doesn't matter; I'll still take him by myself." Zaraki said while smiling manically, he was still badly damaged from his previous fight, but had refused to be left out of this one even if it meant he had to work with other captains.

"Go Kenny!" Yachiru yelled still hanging upon his right shoulder.

"Don't make such outrageous claims." Byakuya said simply. All three captains knew the truth when they first felt the Zero Espada's presence. His reiatsu and size was so outrageous that it would be impossible to fight the creature alone.

"Barbarian." Muttered Mayuri.

"What was that?" Zaraki said, facing the Squad Twelve Captain.

"What do you intend to do in your weakened condition? You'd merely be in the way." Mayuri stated.

"I have to give him some handicap." Zaraki said, his grin widening.

"I see you still haven't stopped speaking utter nonsense, even when the odds are greatly stacked against you." Byakuya commented.

"Your one to talk, seeking help from the twelfth division captain." Zaraki replied with a shake of his head as all three began to walk towards the giant.

"I'm tired of waiting." Yammy snapped, furious that Zaraki had cut him. Without pause his fist struck the ground in front of the captains and once again a shockwave shot out.

Byakuya and Mayuri eyed the shock wave uncaringly, while Zaraki swung his blade down; successfully disrupting the wave.

"Yachiru." Zaraki said as the sand whipped around the captain.

"I know." she replied before jumping off Zaraki's shoulder and taking off to be with the others at a safer location.

With a wave of his hand, Byakuya's Bankai began moving again and shot out towards Yammy's head.

"Don't get in my way, either of you; I'll have no problem cutting you in half!" Zaraki made clear while running towards the goliath.

"Again, speaking as if you had authority over us." Byakuya said.

"Do not cut him up too badly or else the dissection will take me all the more longer." Mayuri called out to his fellow captains.

"You guys are definitely stronger than the others." Yammy admitted before raising his hand and intercepting the petals barehanded. Zaraki jumped onto the Espada's shoulder and sliced at Yammy's neck; a deep cut caused the Espada to roar.

"Bankai." Mayuri voice suddenly rang out, while releasing a large amount of reiatsu.

The baby's mouth on Mayuri's Zanpakuto's hilt suddenly opened wide and began to produce a giant creature with the body of a caterpillar in a red cape with a grotesque golden baby's head with a silver halo hovering around it.

Since Mayuri had to disable the poison to stop the other from getting killed, the usefulness of his Bankai was limited.

"Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo."

Extendible blades immediately shot out of the Bankai's chest as it charged Yammy, while the distracted Espada reached for Zaraki who was now trying to cut his chest, this allowed Byakuya's petals to surround the Espada's head and limit his vision.

Just as quickly, Mayuri's Bankai made contact; Yammi's Hierro was pierced, albeit not enough to cause major damage. The Espada grunted before bringing his hand down and crushing Mayuri's Bankai like it was nothing, the retractable blades shattering into thousands of tiny pieces.

Mayuri seemed not to mind.

Yammy suddenly shouted as loud as he could, a sonic wave emitted from his mouth and blew away Byakuya's Bankai. With his vision restored he grabbed Zaraki and threw the captain into the ground, hard enough to create a rather large crater.

"Damn, he's strong." Zaraki said when he got out of the crater and dusted off his already battle damaged clothes. Mayuri and Byakuya appeared beside him and they watched as Yammy's "injuries" began healing instantly.

"Before me are three captains, and this is all you can do?" Yammy asked angrily.

"It's his size that stops him from taking too much damage, but to think he took on and defeated two Bankai's within seconds of each other, not to mention appear unaffected at all. This Espada truly interests me." Mayuri said as his face broke out into a wide grin.

_'He's also giving us time to recover from his counter. What's he planning?'_ Zaraki thought.

"Nevertheless we should try to finish this fast and find a way back to where the other captains are fighting." Byakuya said.

All of a sudden the petals of his Bankai, which had scattered onto the sand, combined once again, this time charging back to Byakuya. The infinite number of petals began condensing into a single sword as Byakuya's spiritual pressure began reaching its peak.

The other 2 captains merely waited for him to charge up his strongest attack as the sand whipped around them.

"Very impressive, but you will find no victory here." Yammy said while laughing. He was positive that they would be unable to defeat him.

"Shukei: Hakuteiken." Byakuya said as he poured his entire being into the attack. Pure white wings formed on Byakuya's back along with an equally white halo. He tightened his grip on the white sword… ready to attack.

(With Rukia and co.)

"Hi! Hi!" Yachiru shouted happily as she arrived with the others, a large smile on her face.

"Lieutenant Yachiru. So then Captain Zaraki has joined the other captains." Isane said. Both she and Hanataro were working hard to heal Rukia, Renji, and Chad, while Nemu injected them with a small amount of regenerative serum that her captain had given her.

"He sure is! He wanted to take on the big hollow by himself, but the other captains wouldn't let him." Yachiru sighed as she sat down next to Nemu and stared at the battle that was happening far off in the distance. All that could be seen was Yammy's body.

"Captain Kuchiki… is fighting with… the other captains?" Renji panted, he winced when Isane applied pressure to his ribs.

"Yes, both Captain Kuchiki and Captain Kurotsuchi met up after their perspective fights with the Espada. We were going to find Captain Unohana, but we all felt that Espada's spiritual pressure... Both captains realized before arriving that it would be futile to attack such a creature single handedly, but I'm guessing they aren't really working together, just fighting the same guy. Of course Captain Kuchiki had me heal him." Isane said, focusing on healing the Shinigami.

When she, Hanataro, and Nemu showed up, Renji, Rukia, and Chad had every single bone in their bodies broken. Luckily for them healing bones was one of the easier medical practices with kido. Their skills, along with Nemu's injections, made their recovery go all the swifter, within minutes they were nearly healed.

"He's now fighting three captains and from what I can feel they aren't causing much damage, he wasn't even affected by their sudden appearance." Rukia said weakly. All of them began to look worried.

"Don't worry. With Kenny there, that Espada won't stand a chance!" Yachiru yelled while suddenly jumping up.

"Where is your captain?" Chad asked Hanataro, who was healing him.

"I'm not too sure." He said quietly.

"Before I took off to find Ichigo, she said she had some business to attend to." Chad replied.

"Have you heard from Ichigo?" Renji asked. Hanataro shook his head.

"We haven't had contact with him at all, nobody has." He said.

"But don't worry. We all know Ichigo will be here soon to help out the captains. Then that Espada will really be in tro-" Hanataro was suddenly interrupted when they felt Captain Kuchiki's reiatsu flare up.

"Brother…" Rukia said as they all looked towards the battle. Next to Yammi they could see pure white energy forming.

"I fear that that the Captains underestimated the Espada." Nemu spoke for the first time since arriving there. The others couldn't help but feel a sense of dread come over them…

(Yammy vs Byakuya, Zaraki, and Mayuri)

Byakuya stood, with his fellow captains, before the Zero Espada in his most powerful form.

"I'm aiming for the center of his chest." Byakuya said calmly, indirectly telling them to attack the same spot. Both captains caught on within seconds.

"Gotcha." Zaraki said. Though it wasn't his style to fight with others, he could feel his energy draining. His previous battle had taken too much out of him. He would never admit it to them though. This fight was way too interesting.

"He'll probably stop you before you can get close enough for you to hit him in that form." Mayuri said simply.

"Which is another way of telling me you have a plan that would give me an opening?" Byakuya inferred.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mayuri said while reaching into his Captain's robe and pulling out a remote detonator.

"What's that? Are you going to use a bomb?" Yammy asked, highly amused.

"A bomb? Just a regular bomb? Don't insult me Espada. When you smashed my Bankai the blades also shattered. You haven't realized this, but the tiny pieces of the blades have been attaching to you since then and are now covering your body. When detonated they will release a strong acidic compound." Mayuri said almost as if he was excited.

"I grow tired of this. Even if what you say is true, it will have no effect." Yammy shouted before his fist charged with red electricity.

"I can't believe I have to use this twice in one day." Zaraki gripped his Zanpakuto with both hands.

Looking at the Espada's charging attack, all the captains stood their ground.

"Bala" Yammy's voice boomed. His massive fist shot out towards the captains and hit the area they were in within seconds. The blast was so massive it would have been impossible for the captain's to escape in time.

Yammy was about to shoot another one when suddenly his entire body was covered with explosions. He yelled out as acid began to burn his skin. It was a nearly useless tactic but had done its job.

Mayuri was able to distract the Espada, giving Zaraki and Byakuya an opening to attack.

Yammy saw both captains charging but it was too late. Byakuya hit the Espada's chest with all the strength he could muster, the blast of his attack shot right through the Espada's massive body.

The moment all his energy hit the Espada he flew out of the way just as Zaraki jumped up and, while using kendo, sliced the exact same spot Byakuya hit. The resulting explosion engulfed Yammy's chest.

Yammy yelled out as the captains power finally broke through. Blood began flowing out of the wound in his chest like a water fountain.

The Espada clutched his injury in pain as the captains once again appeared next to each other.

"That may have been a good combination attack, which I'm sure could have taken down weaker opponents, but he only has a slight injury." Byakuya said trying to catch his breath he had expected his attack to at least cause more damage. His energy was almost spent, along with Zaraki's.

Yammy suddenly began laughing.

"You punks are good. Captains are indeed strong…but this is nothing." Yammy said, his wound already starting to heal.

With speed the captains didn't think was possible for the Espada's size, he opened his mouth and released a cero so massive it eclipsed the ceiling of Hueco Mundo.

A cero that none of the Captain's had seen before. A pitch black cero devoid of all light. A cero of immersurable power... And it hit all 3 Captain's before they could react, and even if they could, the sheer magnitude made it impossible.

The destructive force would have been no different than if a meteor had desended from the sky and had crashed down. A massive explosion and in its wake...

"So that was a captain's strength," Yammy asked as the explosion begun to die down. "I'm not impressed." He finished, his eyes locked on the three captains.

Every single bone in their bodies, broken.

"You're still alive? Even afte taking my Cero Oscuras head on... Hm, I guess I didn't take you seriously enough. Allow me to correct my mistake."

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Unprepared for any such attack, Yammy was hit full on by a black blast of concentrated spirit energy. The attack had hit his face full on causing him to yell out in pain. He immediately looked down.

Ichigo Kurosaki was standing on the edge of the crater that held the beaten captains. To his right was Ishida Uryu, thanks to Orihime healing them. Both looked as if they hadn't seen battle yet…both at full power.

"I see, you used your Getsuga Tensho to offset my Cero Oscuras, saving those captain's lives. You punk... Ulquiorra should't have lost to someone like you. I'll enjoy crushing you."

"ISHIDA NOW!" Ichigo yelled. Within a second he had vanished via Shunpo, while Ishida pulled out his bow.

"Licht Regan." The Quincy yelled and shot a continuous volley of thousands of Quincy arrows. Although Yammy was unaffected by them, it did buy Ichigo time. Before arriving, they had decided that Ishida would distract Yammy, while Ichigo rescued the captains and placed them in a safer location before fighting the Zero Espada.

(With Ichigo)

After just moving Mayuri, and Byakuya, Ichigo went back to move the last captain.

"You're helping me this time?" Zaraki asked while coughing up blood.

"I had my own fight, you know" Ichigo explained as he helped Zaraki up and Shunpo'd out of the crater. Ichigo had helped all the captains up against the some ruble so that they were sitting down, closer to Yammy than Ichigo would have liked, but the captains wanted to stay.

"Get your girl over here and heal us." Zaraki said.

"Can't, if she's this close to Yammy, she wouldn't be able to handle it." Ichigo explained. Zaraki groaned in annoyance, the captains were in serious pain.

"You have my gratitude…Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya said weakly.

"I guess I owe you one, I'll reward you by not turning you into a science experiment." Mayuri coughed.

"Hurry up back to your friend, the Espada is getting agitated." Zaraki said.

"Maybe he needs to fight someone stronger than three captains." Ichigo said before making a clawing motion with his hands, across his face, his hollow mask starting to form.

"I'll have Orihime heal you soon." Ichigo's now demonic voice echoed

"He won't be alone long" Zaraki said tiredly. Byakuya nodded

"Yeah, it appears she's going to enter the battle."

"My, this will get interesting." Mayuri stated seriously.

(Yammy VS. Ichigo)

Ichigo appeared next to Ishida instantly.

"Did they have any ideas on a way to defeat him?" Ishida asked, slowly stopping his volley of arrows. Ichigo shook him head.

"We have to be quick." Ichigo said. "We can't give him a chance to regenerate."

Yammy's hand came crashing down on both of them; they were barely able to avoid it.

"He's quick for his size." Ishida said, Ichigo nodded and swung his Bankai.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Yammy easily intercepted the Getsuga that was aimed at his head with his hand, but the attack left him bleeding heavily. In no time he had healed himself.

"We need a plan, or else we're screwed!" Ishida snapped. Yammy's tail whipped around and slammed it into the ground, causing Ichigo and Ishida to lose balance.

Ishida quickly shot off several arrows at Yammy's head only for it to bounce off.

"Let's get closer to him and limit his mobility." Ichigo suggested. They were going to move when Yammy's hand swiped. Ichigo quickly charged his Bankai with his Getsuga and with his new found speed, cut his hand clean off at the wrist.

Yammy cried out in anguish, even as it already began to regenerate.

"Don't you Shinigami get it?! In Hueco Mundo, I am invincible!" Yammy shouted after a moment.

Ichigo raised his hand and was about release another Getsuga, but was interrupted when the sound of someone using Shunpo appeared behind him. Ichigo's eyes widened as a gentle hand touched his shoulder. _'How did they sneak up on me?'_ Ichigo thought worriedly.

"I apologize for being late; I was securing a route out of Hueco Mundo." A soft female's voice whispered to Ichigo.

Ichigo slowly turned around and saw the most powerful woman in all of soul society smiling at him.

After countless years of avoiding the front lines, Unohana Retsu had entered the battle.

"You can put your weapon away and go take care of your friend Kurosaki-san. I will be along shortly."

**_The Humble Captain Unsheathes Her Blade!_**

**_(Author's note)_**

Technique Meanings

Japanese / English Meaning / User

Some no mai, Tsukishiro / First Dance, White Moon / Rukia

Tsugi no mai, Hakuren / Next Dance, White Ripple / Rukia

Hikotsu Taiho / Baboon Bone Canon / Renji

La Muerte / The Death / Chad

Shukei Hakuteiken / Last Sight, White Imperial Sword / Byakuya


	5. Countdown to the Beginning I

(Author's note: Please read, enjoy, and review the war's end.)

(Countdown to the Beginning I)

"I apologize for being late; I was securing a route out of Hueco Mundo." A soft female's voice to Ichigo.

Ichigo slowly turned around and saw the most powerful woman in all of soul society smiling at him.

After countless years of avoiding the front lines, Unohana Retsu had entered the battle.

"You can put your weapon away and go take care of your friend Kurosaki-san." Unohana said softly while unsheathing her blade. "I will be along in a moment."

Ichigo, unfamiliar with Unohana's "legacy", stood up, "No way! Besides, aren't you Captain of the Healing Division in Soul Society? The others will need your..." The words died on his lips as his eyes meet hers.

They were not the kind and caring eyes he was accustomed to seeing. They were dark, and a powerful aura begun to surround her.

"Ahhhh... I should... go." He whispered, finding himself unable to meet her gaze.

"That would be wise, Kurosaki-san." She replied, a false smile on her face.

The moment she finished speaking, reiatsu shot out of her body and all those around her, even Yammy, felt as if they would be crushed by her reiatsu.

Yammy's eyes widened in shock at the captain before him. At first glance she looked weak and spoke as if she was humbled, but the power she was releasing made him realize she was anything but those things. Even Ichigo did not expect such power from the female captain.

"It makes no sense to use physical attacks on an opponent such as you. I'd prefer not to use this, but it seems the choice is unavoidable…" Unohana said, speaking to Yammy directly this time. Yammy raised an eyebrow.

He was about to reply, but wasn't given a chance.

She held up her Zanpakuto, "Bankai... Minazuki..."

Ichigo and Yammy watched as Unohana's Zanpakuto suddenly liquefied into a thick, dark red, substance that slowly began surround the entire area. Ichigo remained perfectly still, amazed at the Bankai she had unleashed and once the majority of the blood red substance flowed off her Zanpakutō, it reveals the remainder has solidified into a shortened katana.

Yammy, finding no need to waste anymore time, raised his fist.

"If you're scared captain, you'd be well in your right to be." He mocked. "Especially if that is all you Bankai is capable of doing."

"I am not the one that should be scared, Espada." Unohana said, her captain's robe still whipping around her as her reiatsu continued to pour out of her body. Yammy was taken back by her comment.

"Enough of this!" Yammy roared before bringing his fist down on the captain.

Unohana stood her ground as the colossal fist neared her and once it got within a few feet, a massive stream of the thick red substance shot out from below the ground and tightly bound itself around the Espada's fist, completely halting its movement.

Yammy's eyes widened and tried pulling his fist back unsuccessfully. It was as if his hand was incased in cement. He was about to shout something to the captain, but 5 matching streams shot out at the same time: two wrapped tightly around his legs, one trapped his other arm, one got his tail and the final one wrapped itself around Yammy's neck.

The Cero Espada was completely robbed of his mobility.

The "streams" moved by themselves and brought the massive Espada to his hands and knees, causing Yammy to bow to Unohana.

"It is useless Espada, you've lost." Unohana said calmly.

"Minazuki."

"So this is your Bankai, imprisonment." Yammy laughed. "You can't keep me like this forever, and any damage you do to me will simply be healed, I can see why you would prefer not to use your Bankai. It's useless against me!" Yammy yelled, even if he was bowed before her, he was anything but weak.

"You're wrong Espada. The reason why I prefer not to use my Bankai is because I would prefer not to have to kill you. I am the captain of the Shinigami's medical unit; I save lives not destroy them. To have the Bankai with the most deadly ability in all of Soul Society is a burden on me." Unohana answered. Yammy's eyes widened at the word deadly.

"What do you mean, deadly?" Yammy roared. He was getting irritated with his loss of mobility.

"Have you not felt it yet?" Unohana asked. It was when the captain said those words did he truly feel a sense of dread.

Suddenly spirit particles began swarming to him.

"What's going on I don't need to be healed!" He immediately stopped and looked at Unohana.

"What did you do to me?" Yammy said.

"Minazuki means... to end all things," She explained calmly, "My Bankai is the deadliest Zanpakuto because no one can avoid it. When I release my Bankai, my opponent will die. There are no exceptions. Once it touches you, once it makes contact with flesh...

"I'm not using reiatsu!" Yammy yelled. He could suddenly feel his strength weakening.

"Aren't you?" Unohana replied. Yammy suddenly realized the spirit particles engulfing him.

"Your body is trying to keep you alive using your reiatsu and spirit particles to regenerate your melting body. Unfortunately for you, Minazuki is killing you faster that you are healing." Unohana explained sadly. The ground suddenly began shaking as Yammy put his entire being into escaping the "streams".

They released him shot back into the ground where it returned to its liquid form and back to its sealed state as Yammy suddenly clutched at his chest and roared as pain engulfed his body.

Ichigo continued to watch as the red substance slowly vanished as the Captain deactivated her Bankai.

Without a second thought, Unohana slowly sheathed her Zanpakuto and turned away from the colossal Espada: starting to walk towards Ichigo.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Yammy roared while standing up weakly, cracks broke out on the Espada's skin. He felt as if acid was eating its way out of him.

Yammy opened his mouth and began charging a cero. Unohana simply glanced side eye at the Espada with an unreadable expression, making no indication for dodging his attack.

When the cero was fully charged, Yammy made to release it, however, he found himself losing the ability to keep the cero concentrated, causing it to disperse.

Unohana closed her eyes for a second before continuing to walk away.

"No! I can't die like this! I am Aizen-sama's strongest Arrancar!" Yammy yelled.

"Farewell Espada." Unohana said sadly when suddenly Yammy's flesh melted away, leaving only his massive skeleton as a reminder to those that would dare challenge her...

Ichigo stared, shocked, at the Captain of Squad 4.

Yammy had taken out seven powerful opponents and Unohana had defeated him as if he were nothing.

"I thought I told you to take care of your friends." Unohana said as she approached him, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"I thought you would need help." Ichigo said while scratching the back of his head with one hand.

"The thought is much appreciated Kurosaki-san, but as you can see I have everything under control. Now help out your friend, the Quincy, I will tend to the captains. We must hurry and help out the captains that are fighting Aizen." With a nod from Ichigo, she left to where Ichigo had moved the weakened captains.

Ichigo quickly used Shunpo and appeared next to Ishida. The Quincy was in the center of a rather large crater.

"Can you walk?"Ichigo told his friend. Ishida grunted.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." He said weakly before slowly getting up.

"Hurry up then, we have to get Orihime to heal you." Ichigo said.

"Can't you wait, damn it." Ishida growled. Ichigo shook his head before placing an arm on Ishida's shoulder and took himself and Ishida to the defeated captains via Shunpo.

Upon arriving, Ichigo and Ishida were met by every person that had arrived in Hueco Mundo.

Orihime was healing Zaraki, Byakuya, and Mayuri. The lieutenants, Rukia, Chad and Unohana spoke amongst themselves as the captains recovered.

"Good, everyone's here." Ichigo said before helping Ishida over to where Orihime was.

"Kurosaki-san, I'm so glad you're alright." Orihime said after releasing a sigh of relief.

"Ishida needs to be healed." Ichigo told her. Orihime nodded and created a small opening for Ishida to enter the golden orb so that he could heal along with the captains.

Ichigo then walked towards where Chad was sitting and began speaking to those that were there, mostly about how Unohana defeated the Cero Espada single handedly.

"What will we do now?" Isane asked her captain.

"I have found a way for us to leave Hueco Mundo. We will rejoin the captains fighting Aizen."

"How?" Isane asked.

"I will say when we are all ready to leave. It seems Inoue-san is nearing completion." She said.

"Aizen will have nowhere to run when we get to Karakura Town, we out number him." Renji said to the group.

"Numbers rarely count in war. We do not know how powerful his top Espada really are." Unohana explained.

"From what I know Aizen took his top 3 Espada with him to Karakura town. Their power must be unimaginable. I fought the fourth Espada and died, it was only because of Inoue that I survived." Ichigo remained quiet about exactly how he defeated the said Espada.

"You died, how?" Rukia asked.

"He overpowered me. His reiatsu made me feel as if an ocean was crashing down on me." Ichigo replied.

"That is just another reason why we cannot underestimate Aizen." Isane whispered. Suddenly they felt Orihime's reiatsu finally descending.

They turned and saw Orihime releasing the golden orb as she finished healing the captains and Ishida.

Now everyone in the group was at full strength. It was as if they had never been in battle, and now they were all gathered together around Unohana to discuss what plan she had in mind to escape Hueco Mundo.

"So what do you have in mind, Captain Unohana?" Byakuya asked.

"To begin, finding our escape route is the reason why I was late to arrive. After I finished healing Yasutora-san and the Arrancar he fought, I sensed another spiritual signature. Upon arriving I discovered it was the Espada that Kurosaki-san had fought with. His name was Grimmjow. After healing him, he made to attack me but I _negotiated_ with him to open a Garganta for us. He should be at Aizen's throne room waiting for us." Unohana explained. This was just the break they needed, but most of them wondered exactly how she convinced the Espada to obey her, but only one had the curiosity to ask her.

"How did you negotiate with him exactly, Captain?" Hanataro asked. Unohana simply smiled.

"Negotiated by means of my zanpakuto." She said. That cleared everything up in a second.

"Let's go then, I'm tired of waiting and I'm dying to fight some tough opponents!" Zaraki exclaimed.

Yachiru jumped on his shoulder. "I'm with Kenny!" She yelled.

"I agree, we should get moving." Ishida said. With that said one by one the group took off via Shunpo, and those that were unable to use Shunpo were taken by someone that could.

(Aizen's Throne Room)

All at once the group of Shinigami and human alike appeared before a rather large case of stairs that lead to Aizen's throne. Just like Unohana had stated, a Garganta was opened directly to the right of the throne along with the Sexta Espada. Grimmjow was sitting on the highest step staring down at them all.

"Here, I have repaid my debt." Grimmjow said while glaring at Unohana. Unohana just smiled back at him and replied.

"Thank you, Grimmjow-san. And when we get to Karakura town how will the gar-"

Grimmjow interrupted her. "It will open for you when you get to the other side. I don't owe you anything else." Suddenly his eyes widened as they met Ichigo's.

"You." He growled. He made to grab his Zanpakuto, but was stopped when he seen every Shinigami there, except Unohana, place their hands on their own Zanpakuto. There was silence for a second as Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.

"Tch." He removed his hand from his Zanpakuto and without a word used Sonido to leave.

"Shall we?" Unohana said softly. With that everyone ascended the steps and went directly to the Garganta.

"Our opponents might be tough." Renji said. Everyone agreed as they stepped forward. They were about to enter when they were once again interrupted.

"ITSYGO! WAIT FOR ME!" A childish voice rang out in the throne room. Everyone turned in surprise to see a child sized Arrancar running as fast as she could up the flight of stairs, while crying.

"Nel?" Orihime and Ichigo said in surprise. Both had lost track of her when Orihime was taken by Stark. It took a while before she finally reached the top, but when she did she swiftly jumped on Ichigo and hugged him tightly.

"Itsygo, I thought you was gonna leave without me!" Nel cried dramatically.

"Would you care to explain, Kurosaki-san." Unohana said, while everyone else was staring at the weeping Arrancar.

"Yeah, we found Nel before coming into Aizen's stronghold. She helped us a lot; she's not evil like other hollows." He explained. Nel smiled.

"Yeah, Now Itsygo will take me with him to the human world." Nel smiled.

"I see no reason not to take," Ichigo was interrupted by Byakuya.

"That won't be possible."

Ichigo glared at the captain.

"What do you mean; she's been loads of help."

"The fact of the matter remains, she is an Arrancar. If we take her to the human world now, she might be mistaken as the enemy and killed." Byakuya explained.

"Rest assured Ichigo-san, after this war, if the Arrancar wishes to remain with you I will use all my power as a captain of the 13 divisions to allow her to remain with you. We can't let your part in this war be overlooked, nor yours little one" Unohana explained.

Ichigo still looked downtrodden and Nel confused.

"Their right Nel, I can't take you yet. You must remain in Hueco Mundo until the war is over."

"But... but Itsygo." Nel began crying again.

"Don't worry I'll come back for you. I promise. When we leave, go find your friends and stay hidden until I come and get you."

Nel suddenly stopped crying.

"Oh Dondochakka and Pesche. I forget about them." She said with a sad smile.

"We have to go now, see ya." Ichigo said as everyone entered the Garganta.

"Bye Itsygo! Come back for Nel!" She cried as Ichigo waved and entered the Garganta seconds before it closed.

The path to Karakura town was a short one. Not one person spoke as they traversed the spirit path laid out for them by Byakuya, who was leading them. It was eerily silent. Every person's mind was on ending the war Aizen had created, they didn't have to think on it long. After twenty minutes of walking Byakuya came to a halt.

"We're here."

Suddenly the sound of ripping filled the air as the Garganta began to open.

(Karakura Town)

Within moments the Garganta opened, with an echoing boom, and all the fighters that were battling in Karakura Town felt the presence of Soul Society's remaining fighters.

When the numerous fighters stepped out of the Garganta both Aizen and Yamamoto understood. Aizen had lost. With only two Espada remaining, Tosen, and himself, they were severely out numbered.

"Assist our comrades." Unohana ordered, and suddenly all those that were able to use Shunpo disappeared while Chad, Ishida and Orihime were lowered to the nearest building.

Suddenly the sky above the destroyed town was filled with the remaining warriors.

Before Starrk now stood: Shunsui, Byakuya, and Zaraki. All three captains were cornering the Primera, though he looked unfazed by their arrival. He was now staring at Aizen, who had told them that Soul Society would not prevail. This turn of event said something entirely different.

"Surrender Espada." Byakuya whispered.

"So it seems…" Starrk replied uncaringly, his eyes never leaving Aizen. _'What a troublesome man...'_

Harribel was about to use Sonido and assist Starrk but was blocked by Unohana.

"Don't tell me I have to go through you too." The Espada snapped, her eyes narrowing. Unohana merely unsheathed her blade.

"Are you the Espada that killed Captain Hitsugaya and critically wounded Captain Ukitake?" Unohana asked while failing to find Hitsugaya's reiatsu and barely feeling Ukitake's.

"Yes." Harribel answered, using Sonido to appear before the Captain. She made to cut Unohana in half but her weapon was deflected by Zanpakuto.

The rest of the fighters were spread around the various fights in case they were needed.

Aizen's eyes narrowed at this turn of events. Realization dawn on him, the Hogyoku had failed to become unsealed even in the midst of such powerful reiatsu... He had lost.

"It's over Aizen." Yamamoto yelled, having just deactivated his Bankai, at the stunned ex-captain as Ichigo unexpectedly appeared next to the now younger captain commander. Ichigo made no comment on how the Captain Commander appeared younger. He kept his eyes solely on Aizen; the most important thing at the moment.

"I'll make you pay for kidnapping Orihime!" He shouted.

Aizen made to reply but halted when he felt Tosen's reiatsu suddenly vanish.

_'Gin... Tosen...' _Aizen's eyes narrowed._ 'I underestimated all of them. I can no longer find victory here.'_ His eyes scanned the battlefield. He was not without a backup plan.

He would just need one person.

"I admit I have failed and must unfortunately retreat." Aizen accepted. Yamamoto began focusing the flames on Ryujin Jakka to the tip of the blade.

"You cannot escape Aizen, we have you surrounded." Yamamoto roared.

"Then even until the very end you underestimate my Espada. Harribel. Starrk, come, were leaving."

Harribel parried another strike from the female captain just as Aizen called for her. For the first time since Aizen recruited her, Harribel opening ignored him. The seeds of doubt were planted in her mind on Aizen's leadership.

Getting her mind back at the battle at hand she immediately crossed swords with Unohana. She made to stab the Captain but was 'rewarded' by the Captain finding an opening in her defense and cutting her right shoulder.

She winced in pain.

Starrk stood at a standstill with three captains when Aizen ordered them to come to him. Starrk simply pretended he hadn't heard.

Both remaining Espada were thinking the exact same thing: _'He not as powerful as he led us to believe.'_

Without warning one of the captains, Byakuya, slashed at the Primera's midsection. Starrk leisurely batted away the pathetic attempt to harm and retaliated by striking Byakuya's shoulder with his fist, causing little to no damage. He stopped fighting at full strength the moment Soul Society's back up came. It was only a matter of time before they retreated.

Within moments Zaraki tried his hand at attacking the Primera. Starrk merely grabbed Zaraki's blade barehanded and snapped it in half before sending the captain flying with a kick and turning back to his original opponent.

"Will you give me back Lilynette?" Starrk asked calmly of Shunsui, who still held both guns in his hands.

"Now why would I," Shunsui was interrupted when the guns in his hands began burning.

"LET GO OF ME!" Lilynette's voice shouted angrily from the guns, He had not expected the flare up of heat and dropped both weapons. He was even more surprised when both guns shot back directly into Starrk's waiting hands.

"Now we are back to the beginning." Starrk said while aiming his guns.

Aizen's eyes narrowed as his Espada continued to fight and ignored his order.

"What will you do now Aizen?" Ichigo shouted while he put on his hollow mask.

"Did you not hear me?" Aizen replied. "I said I must retreat, have you forgotten that I still have the Hogyoku in my possession. I will return and next time my Arrancar won't be so weak. I have made a mistake in dividing up not only your forces but mine as well. Each Espada may be powerful in their own right but if they are not together, they are merely over powered hollows." he finished.

Without warning a voice called out.

"Bakudo # 61 Rikujokoro" Within moments Aizen found himself incapacitated by the binding spell. Not a moment later Mayuri appeared next to the captain commander.

"Just an extra precaution." The captain of the twelfth division stated.

No one complained.

"Let this be over with." Yamamoto said, releasing a "beam" of concentrated flame towards the Ex-Captain.

"Cero Oscuras!"

An incredibly deadly black cero surged out of the suddenly appearing Espada's hand and crashed in to the firestream.

The resulting explosion was immeasurable. It was so powerful the remaining pillars, that kept the real Karakura town protected, were destroyed and those below the rank of captain were sent crashing into the battlefield.

The real Karakura town slowly appeared far below were the explosion happened.

The residue of the explosion didn't cover the sky for very long, the dust cleared and all the Shinigami were shocked at what they saw before them.

Halibel stood before the Shinigami with an unconscious Orihime, carelessly, thrown over her shoulder.

As for Starrk, he was easily able to appear behind Mayuri and currently had one of his guns pushed into Mayuri's back.

_'A hostage?'_ Mayuri thought in frustration.

Yamamoto, who was several feet from the Primera, was surprised that Stark had snuck up on him and captured a captain.

"Nobody move." Starrk said calmly. Halibel suddenly turned and, with her weapon, sliced the rings of light that had imprisoned Aizen. She was careful not to let Orihime fall. While she did, the captains that weren't at the scene suddenly appeared.

Ichigo's reiatsu suddenly flared.

"Let Orihime go." He shouted. Harribel looked at Ichigo for several seconds before averting her eyes and ignoring him. Ichigo knew with Orihime in their hands he could do nothing but wait or else Orihime could get hurt.

"I told you not to underestimate my Espada. With this girl, I can make it so that this war never happened." He said.

Harribel and Starrk glanced at each other.

The truth was that the Espada were going to leave Aizen and go back to Hueco Mundo, but realized one undeniable fact... Without Aizen, they would be next. The Gotei Thirteen would not let Starrk, Harribel, Lynette, or the fraccion live out peaceful lives in Las Noches. They would be hunted down and killed like animals. No matter how much they hated it, Aizen was the only one capable of keeping the Gotei Thirteen's eyes away from them.

For now... They had no choice but to follow him. Not if they wanted to keep their loved ones safe.

"Release Captain Kurotsuchi and Inoue at once! You're merely delaying your fate Aizen!" Yamamoto shouted while staring at Aizen. Every Shinigami before him had their Zanpakuto drawn.

"Harribel, if you please." Aizen said. With a swift glance to Ichigo, she opened a Garganta.

"Starrk let's go." Aizen said. Without a moment's hesitation Stark pulled the trigger and shot a cero point blank in Mayuri's back, killing the captain instantly.

A stunned expression marred Mayuri's face as life fled his body.

No one had expected it thus they were stunned for several seconds.

"Sorry, Captain." Starrk said unemotionally as the captain fell. The sound of Nemu shouting her captain's name filled the air as all the captains suddenly charged Stark who effortlessly evaded them all with Sonido.

While the captains were preoccupied with stopping Starrk, Ichigo charged Harribel. Unfortunately she disappeared with Orihime via Sonido into the Garganta, closely followed by Aizen and Starrk.

Fortunately or unfortunately Ichigo used shunpo and was able to enter the Garganta right before it completely closed, ignoring the voices of some of shinigami trying to stop him. It was already too late.

Ichigo knew that entering the Garganta alone was suicide, but he had promised to rescue Inoue no matter what...

_'I'm coming... Orihime!'_

_**On this day, Soul Society "won" the war. Though they had many casualties they had save Karakura Town along with the King of Soul Society. Unfortunately this war didn't end in Aizen's death, and while he is alive Soul Society won't be safe.**_

(The next chapter.. "Ichigo vs. Aizen")

Technique Meanings

Japanese / English Meaning / User

Minazuki / All things end

Rikujokoro / Six Rods Prison of Light / Mayuri


	6. Countdown to the Beginning - End

(Author's Note: Read, review and enjoy!)

(Chapter 6)

Ichigo quickly ran through the black, whirling, torrential energy on pursuit of Aizen, his focus only on rescuing Orihime from danger. He knew that at the end of this chase he would have to face not only Aizen, but two of his strongest Espada as well. Ichigo was no fool, he knew there wasn't a chance that he could succeed in rescuing Orihime alone, but it was too late to turn back now. He was already half way to Aizen's stronghold, Las Noches and even if wanted to turn back he couldn't; the Garganta was now closed, cut off completely from the others. This time he would be on his own.

He, swiftly, followed the dark spiritual pressure of all three of his enemies. The moment he had entered the Garganta they had taken off at a speed Ichigo was unable to keep up with. Fortunately, with them having such high reiatsu, Ichigo could follow their trail easily. It was the end of the trail that made Ichigo feel a sense of dread.

_'Don't worry Inoue, I'm coming. No matter what, I'll save you, and then we can both go back to the human world together.'_ Ichigo thought as he rapidly approached the vast desert that surrounded Las Noches.

This time, with Ichigo using Shunpo to cross the desert, he was able to reach Las Noches faster than before and soon he was standing directly before the main gate of Aizen's fortress.

_'I'm coming Inoue.'_ Ichigo thought solemnly as he lifted Zangetsu.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Ichigo roared and with a swipe of Tensa Zangetsu, the cero-like attack crashed into the reishi enhanced wall and brought a large section of it crumbling down.

As a pathway made itself visible, Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

_'Almost there' _

(Hogyoku Store Room)

"Why didn't you send Wonderweiss if you thought we were losing Aizen-_sama" _Starrk asked while leaning against the wall near him. Lilynette was directly behind him sitting down with her back against the same wall.

Aizen either didn't catch the slight sarcasm when Starrk said "sama", or he didn't show that it bothered him.

"I had Wonderweiss delay some allies of Soul Society, he should be back soon. Thanks to him we didn't have to deal with Yoruichi, Urahara, who is an ex-captain of Soul Society, and a powerful Quincy." Aizen replied as he sat on his chair that was directly to the right of the Hogyoku.

"Yet we still lost." Harribel stated as she suddenly appeared via Sonido without Orihime on her shoulder.

Due to the laws of Las Noches, set in place by Aizen; Halibel, Lilynette, and Stark had reverted to their pre-resurreccion forms and were now wearing their usual clothes.

The reason they were still following Aizen was simple; though the three now saw Aizen as unworthy to lead the Espada, he was still needed to create the new generation of Espada. Under Aizen's command eight of the Espada were killed when he had stated they would be invincible if they joined him, it was now his responsibility to make things right once again.

Even hollows had a hierarchy. Starrk and Harribel were all that's left, like it or not, it would have fallen onto them to lead. A job neither of them wanted.

The only reason why most of the Espada decided to follow Aizen in the first place was because he feared nothing. When beings that are born from that same fear, were propositioned to join him, the choice was obvious.

Why not join one who possesses such heartless nature?

Other Arrancar who did not much care for Aizen's nature saw the benefits of joining him.

Now, in light of recent events, all they saw was merely an over powered Shinigami with a control obsession. Nothing more.

"I miscalculated; I did not expect both Ulquiorra and Yammy to fail in their mission to protect Las Noches." Aizen explained calmly.

In the back of their minds, everyone in the room suddenly felt Ichigo reiatsu flare up as he destroyed one side of the wall that encircled Aizen's stronghold, though none of them paid it any attention.

"Was it not you, Aizen-sama that told us not to underestimate them?" Starrk asked.

Aizen's reiatsu surged out of his body and hit the Espada and Lilynette full force, though only causing Lilynette's eyes to widen and shake due to both Harribel and Starrk being used to his reiatsu by now.

"I'm sure you are just being inquisitive. Am I right, Starrk?" Aizen asked while glancing at the Primera.

"Of course Aizen-sama." Starrk replied while shaking his head sadly.

"You are here because I'm ordering you to be here. What? Are you afr-"

"He's here." Harribel suddenly interrupted, finally breaking the tension in the room.

No sooner than she finish speaking did the double doors that lead to the room came crashing down revealing a very angry Ichigo.

"Aizen!" Ichigo spat out.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. It's nice of you to join us." Aizen said coolly from his chair.

"Where's Orihime!" Ichigo yelled this time speaking to Harribel, who sized him up.

_'There it is again…. His reiatsu…. I feel as if him standing before an Espada.'_ She thought idly while Starrk and Lilynette just stared lazily at Ichigo.

"Alone? How dangerous..."

"Cut the crap Aizen. Tell me where she is?" Ichigo demanded while brandishing Tensa Zangetsu.

Aizen could have told Ichigo that he ordered Harribel to take Orihime to a private cell, but knew that it wouldn't have made the slightest difference.

"She's safe I can assure you, but she won't be going back. You see, ever since I discovered Inoue's ability to reject phenomenon, I had each of my Espada give me a tiny fraction of their mask fragments. This was just a precaution; of course, I never would have thought I needed them. Now that I have both those fragments and Inoue I can restore my Espada so that this entire war never happened. All thanks to Inoue." Aizen finished.

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock.

"C…Cut the crap, Inoue can't reject the dead." Ichigo replied as a smirk appeared on Aizen's face.

"Given enough time, she could. She has already done it with two Arrancar's that Grimmjow killed." Aizen explained.

"Enough, I'm here to rescue Inoue, not talk with you." Ichigo said he suddenly brought his hand up over his left eye before swiping it across his face.

His reiatsu shot up exponentially, increasing his power twenty fold. The three Arrancar in the room were surprised as the mask formed over Ichigo's face and at how his reiatsu now completely hid the reiatsu he had when he wasn't donning the mask, even Aizen raised an eyebrow when finally seeing the transformation first hand.

Though Ichigo's reiatsu was impressive, to Aizen, Starrk, and Harribel, he was still nothing.

**"Give me Inoue… NOW!"** Ichigo yelled in his now raspy hollow voice.

"So, it seems that after each battle you emerge victorious from raises your reiatsu to an entirely different level. You're definitely stronger…" Aizen complimented. Before he could finish, Ichigo charged him.

**"I said… CUT THE CRAP!"** Ichigo's yelled. When he was close enough to the still sitting Aizen, Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu crashing down.

Ichigo locked eyes with Aizen as he did so and grew cautious to see Aizen remain perfectly still.

When Zangetsu was mere inches from splitting Aizen in half, the ex-captain moved at a speed Ichigo couldn't read and brought his own Zanpakuto up above his head.

Aizen successfully blocked Ichigo's strike and when their swords clashed the reiatsu that both of them released caused the entire room to tremor. Not at all surprised by the sudden attack, Aizen merely watch as Ichigo tried to cut through Kyoka Suigetsu to get to him.

"You didn't let me finish. You're definitely stronger, but you're still no match for me." Aizen finished.

Ichigo let out a hollow laugh as he heard those words.

**"At least this time you know not to catch my Bankai barehanded, unless you lose your hand." **

Aizen's eyes slowly narrowed, "Don't get cocky." he countered as he channeled a large amount of his reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and with a twitched of his wrist sent Ichigo flying towards back of the room.

Ichigo merely flipped while in the air and landed forty feet from Aizen.

"You have a very large amount of reiatsu…" Aizen explained while getting up from his chair.

"If you were an Espada you would without a doubt be the fourth. I now sense no difference between your power and Ulquiorra's. That won't be enough to stop me." As he spoke Aizen noticed Ichigo's eyes moving from him to the Arrancar behind him.

"Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette won't interfere. You don't need to worry."

**"I'm not. I just realized that the two stronger ones have both taken Inoue now, after I kill you… their next."** Ichigo explained. Both Espada raised an eyebrow to that statement, while Aizen made no reply.

Without a moment's hesitation Ichigo once again charged Aizen. This time as Ichigo lunged; Aizen parried the attack before slashing at Ichigo, who ducked at the last moment to avoid decapitation.

Ichigo successfully blocked all of Aizen's attempts to stab him.

After blocking several more times Ichigo rolled up from the floor and disappeared via Shunpo. Aizen simply turned and blocked as he suddenly appeared and slashed at the exact place Aizen's was blocking.

_**'Damn it'**_ Ichigo thought before once more vanishing. This time he appeared above Aizen.

**"GETSUGA TENSHO**!" He aimed the potent blast at Aizen, and once the blast reached him Aizen swung his blade up, successfully disrupting Getsuga Tensho, splitting the attack in two.

Trying not to given Aizen time to recover from swinging his blade, Ichigo used Shunpo to appear before Aizen and made to cut him in half.

It was avoided with Shunpo

"You have swift reflexes."Aizen said, appearing in front of Ichigo. The Espada were surprised, even if Aizen wasn't using Kido, or Shikai, Ichigo was still keeping up.

Aizen went on the offensive and slashed at Ichigo, who barely managed to dodge the attack.

When they both crossed blades once again Aizen used all of his strength and managed to unbalance Ichigo. Unfortunately for Ichigo, to stay balanced he had turned his back to Aizen.

Without hesitating Aizen took the opening and sliced, connecting with flesh. With a painful wince, Ichigo was sent flying and crashing into the wall on the far side of the room.

_**'Damn it. He too fast… too strong.**_' Ichigo thought before slowly getting up from the rumble. He cringed as the wound on his back caused pain to sear throughout his body.

"Had enough yet, Kurosaki?" Aizen asked.

"I haven't even started." Ichigo replied before brandishing Tensa Zangetsu.

"Then I have been going too easy on you." Aizen countered. He suddenly sheathed his Zanpakuto and raised his arms. It took Ichigo just a second to realize Aizen was going to use Kido so he quickly held up his blade in front of him.

He had seen the Kido Aizen was capable of, the power to defeat a captain with only a couple of words. He had to be prepared for anything.

"Hado #88 Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho." Aizen incanted. Ichigo eyes widened as the gigantic electrical beam, which took the shape of a dragon's head, surged towards him.

_**'This is going to be close'**_ Ichigo thought worriedly. **"GETSUGA TENSHO!"**

The black energy blast hit the Kido blast full on. Unfortunately within seconds Aizen's Hado spell broke through and continued its path.

Ichigo didn't wait for the spell to get any closer before he took off flying towards Aizen, along a path directly above the Kido spell.

Aizen quickly ended the Kido and grabbed Zanpakuto moments before Ichigo attempted to cut him.

With a well-placed parry from Aizen, Ichigo was sent flying into the air once again.

Ichigo quickly summoned all his reiatsu and released Getsuga Tensho at Aizen, this time, with enough force and speed to severely damage the ex-captain.

"Bakudo #81 Danku." Aizen incanted swiftly.

As the rouge Getsuga crashed into the Bakudo spell, the barrier shattered, though it still did its job of protecting Aizen.

"I'm not even using all of my strength… and still you're this weak?" Aizen questioned while suddenly appearing behind Ichigo.

Before Ichigo could reply, his shoulder was sliced open, spraying blood around him.

Ichigo winced, dropping his Zanpakuto. He watch as Tensa Zangetsu hit the floor below them and made to grab it, but Aizen stopped him.

"You've had your chance to fight me… you lost."

Aizen cut into Ichigo's chest with a devastating blow.

Ichigo's eyes widened as he felt the Zanpakuto slice him, and he could only gasp as he fell to the floor.

_**'He's not even trying?'**_ Ichigo thought as has struggled to get up.

His Zanpakuto was a few feet from him. Ichigo made to grab it, but Aizen got to it first and throw the blade to Starrk who grabbed it and threw it on the ground in front of him.

_'Taking your opponents weapon away?'_ Starrk thought while shaking his head at the pathetic tactic.

"Knowing he cannot win, why does he fight?" Harribel said suddenly appearing next to Starrk and Lilynette.

"What do you think, Starrk?" Lilynette asked curiously.

"Aizen was right… he has the power of level of Ulquiorra. He isn't strong enough." Stark said uncaringly.

"Then can we take off Starrk, this is boring." Lilynette asked.

"No, I don't know why, but I feel that we must stay here." He answered. Lilynette merely sighed while Harribel continued to stare at Ichigo, who during the small conversation, had finally got to his feet.

**"I'll kill you Aizen."** Ichigo swore, breathing heavily.

"Did you really think you could come to Hueco Mundo alone and get Inoue back?" Aizen asked. With a swift kick Ichigo was sent rolling into a pile of rubble.

Ichigo began coughing up blood as he got on him hands and knees.

"We both know that you realized you were going to die the moment you entered the Garganta." Aizen continued as he appeared before him.

_**'Have to think… think… I have to do something….'**_ Ichigo thought as he fought to get up.

"Your body is in immense pain right now even if you could stand you can do nothing. It seems that hollow mask was all for nothing." Suddenly Ichigo's eyes widened at hearing Aizen's speech as the former captain made the mistake of turning his back to Ichigo.

_**'That's it! Getsuga Tensho... Ulquiorra compared it to...'**_Ichigo thought, closing his eyes._** 'This is my last shot… I can do this… I just have to find it.'**_Ichigo thought frantically.

"Your first mistake was thinking you could just walk into Las Noches and rescue your friend alone…"

_**'I have to... concentrate... Focus it as if I still... possessed... Zangetsu.'**_

"Your second mistake was that…" Suddenly he was hit by a rush of spiritual pressure coming off of Ichigo.

Aizen quickly turned around and was shocked at what he saw.

Ichigo stood ten feet away from him with his arm held out. What shocked Aizen even more was that his reiatsu was condensing into a red sphere.

Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette eyes immediately widened.

_**'That's…Cero'**_ Ichigo thought to himself.

All of a sudden a crimson red cero shot out of his hand and engulfed Aizen in massive explosion…

(Author's Note: How did you like this chapter? Love it, Hate it. Please review. Next time… Ichigo's fate. Believe me, Cero isn't the only new power Ichigo receives.)

Technique Meanings

Japanese / English Meaning / User

Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho / Flying Dragon Thunder Canon / Aizen

Danku / Splitting Void / Aizen


	7. The Hollow is Me

(Chapter 7)

The explosion was so massive it rocked the very foundation of Las Noches. The room itself was destroyed and now the only thing above them was the black sky of Hueco Mundo...

Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette covered their faces to block the debris from the room. They couldn't believe what had just happened. Though Ichigo had clearly done a regular cero, the power and intensity of the attack felt as if he had use a Gran Rey Cero.

The amount of reiatsu he put into trying to finish off Aizen was enough to shock even the Primera; it was so powerful, the air surrounding them was charged with the potent energy left behind.

_'How did he…?'_ Starrk thought wide eyed as Lilynette watched Ichigo in amazement. Before Harribel knew it, she began smirking behind her mask fragment. _'So… he has some skill.'_

_'I wouldn't have expected that, and I'm sure Aizen didn't either'_ Starrk thought while staring at Ichigo. He noticed the Shinigami had kept his eyes solely on the large cloud of smoke where Aizen once stood, breathing heavily.

"He's wasting too much time waiting for Aizen to recover from the attack. Why isn't he getting his zanpakuto? How stupid can you get?!" Lilynette shouted while watching Ichigo.

"He's not stupid. Judging from how he's struggling to stand, I'd say he's never used a cero before. Aizen was already tiring him out before using it, so now he's extremely weakened. On top of that, his zanpakuto is right in front of me. I'm sure he doesn't want to risk getting close to us." Starrk explained.

"I wonder if he thinks he has defeated Aizen." Harribel asked.

"No." Starrk replied abruptly. "No, he knows Aizen's still there… What's he doing now?"

Ichigo had taken his eyes off the cloud and was making his way towards them.

While watching the cloud, Ichigo suddenly remembered losing his zanpakuto and he had to decide whether to risk getting it or face Aizen for round two weaponless. He really had no other choice; he chose to risk retrieving Tensa Zangetsu.

_'That wound on his chest… how is he able to stand, let alone walk?'_ Starrk wondered.

He completely ignored the Arrancar, until he was a few feet from them before locking eyes with each of them for several seconds, when he locked eyes with Harribel he narrowed his eyes.

She simply stared at the Shinigami's masked face. None of them made to speak; they just watched the man that had surprised Aizen.

Since she was now closer to Ichigo, she took time to study him. His reiatsu was almost spent, cracks were appearing on the mask, deep lacerations marred his body, but the one thing that that drew her attention were his yellow eyes, they were almost hypnotic. They were the eyes of…

_'A hollow'_ she thought as Ichigo reached down to grab his zanpakuto. When he grasped the hilt he locked eyes with her once more just in case she tried something. Out of the three Arrancar before him, Ichigo felt that she would attack first.

He made to say something but suddenly halted when Harribel began to raise her arm. His eyes widened as he suddenly gripped his zanpakuto's hilt with both hands. Harribel paid no attention to his sudden action.

When her hand was fully raised, she pointed directly to the right of Ichigo.

"Behind you." She said unemotionally. Ichigo's eyes widened even more before he turned as quickly as he could.

Aizen was standing just feet from him, his left arm bleeding heavily.

**"Took your damn time, didn't you?"** Ichigo asked weakly while tightening his grip on his zanpakuto. Ichigo noticed that Aizen's expression had changed from emotionless to agitated.

"Don't act as if you were waiting for me to come out. You were recovering from using too much reiatsu at once. Though I must admit, from watching all of your battles, you have never once shown you had the aptitude to use cero. It was my mistake for doubting you, but don't worry. It won't happen again… I have underestimated you too many times." Aizen said as he raised his blade.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu." Aizen quickly dropped his zanpakuto so that it stuck up from the floor.

_**'Damn it! I was told that he can create illusions. If I keep my eyes on him and can sense his reiatsu at all times I'm sure I can fight him. I can do this.'**_ Ichigo thought calmly.

Before Aizen even made a move, Ichigo whipped Tensa Zangetsu back. **"GETSUGA TENSHO!"** He yelled.

Once again the black energy blast shot out of his blade and charged straight at Aizen.

When his attack reached the ex-captain, Ichigo was stunned to see Getsuga pass right through its intended target.

_**'That's not Aizen, where is he?'**_ Ichigo thought while trying to sense Aizen's reiatsu, it was already too late.

"You've lost Kurosaki Ichigo."

Without warning, Ichigo's chest cut open, again, as blood surged out. His eyes widened and, before he knew it, he fell to his knees.

Time seemed to slow as he looked around, a look of disbelief etched deep in his face.

_**'How? When did he…'**_ he thought shockingly as he clutched his chest. It was no use; his blood loss was too great.

"Do you want to know why I chose to fight you instead of sending one of my Espada?" Aizen asked as Ichigo crumpled to the floor.

"I…don't… give a… damn!" Ichigo struggled to say while struggling to draw breath.

"No matter what data I collected on you, I have never been able to predict anything that you have done: Defeating Grimmjow, defeating Ulquiorra, and every action you have done since I met you. You have intrigued me more than anyone I have ever met." Aizen explained.

Ichigo abruptly began coughing up blood before rolling on his back. All he could do now was lock eyes with Aizen.

_'I'm sorry Orihime… I can't….can't… save you.'_ He thought weakly.

"I expected far too much from you, still. You could have been a powerful ally." Aizen finished before bringing his zanpakuto and ruthlessly stabbing the orange-haired Shinigami directly into his heart.

Ichigo's hands, now moving instinctively, wrapped his fingers around the zanpakuto that impaled him and tried to talk, but all he could do was gurgle, as blood filled his lungs.

_'I'm sorry...'_

(Abyss)

_'I couldn't save her.'_

_'I should have been stronger.'_

_'Will Soul Society come for her…? No.'_

Thought after thought invaded Ichigo's mind. He did not know where he was, nor did he care. He did not know how much time had passed since he appeared there. It could have been a thousand years or 5 seconds, none of that matter now… During the war against the Arrancar, Ichigo had been shown pain, and now in this void… pain was all that Ichigo could feel. He had watched and felt as friend after friend was defeated, tortured, stabbed, nearly killed… all for nothing. This was all Aizen's doing. If only he were given another chance.

All of a sudden, a bright light suddenly appeared and had seemingly spread throughout the black void. Ichigo had to close his eyes at the intensity of the light.

_'What's… what's going on?'_ Ichigo thought as the light began to die down. He kept his eyes closed, knowing he was no longer in the same darkness. This place felt familiar.

(Ichigo's Mindscape)

**"You really did it this time…Ichigo."** A raspy voice called out. Ichigo's closed his eyes even tighter as he felt a bright light on him.

**"You're not the king anymore."**

_'That voice… I know that voice…'_

**"I warned you once, didn't I? I said, 'If you ever gave me a chance… I'd drag you down and crush your skull."** The raspy voice said scornfully. Ichigo's eyes opened wide at that. He was lying down and though it took him a few seconds he realized where he was, the distorted skyscrapers where a dead giveaway.

He slowly got up and quickly looked at his hands in amazement.

"What happened? I was in a fight… no, I was in a…" He couldn't seem to remember anything.

_'Ichigo… I'm Ichigo Kurosaki'_ He remembered. A vision of a blade slicing his chest passed through his mind.

He quickly clutched his chest before looking down at his entire body; he looked as if he was in perfect health.

_'I come here to talk to Zangetsu'_ He remembered. He was about to call out for Zangetsu but was interrupted.

**"You're pathetic Ichigo."** He turned around towards the voice. Twenty feet away was an exact replica of him, except the replica was white.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked. The replica scoffed.

**"That doesn't matter now."**

"What are you talking about? Why am I here? What happened to me?"

**"**_**What happened to you?**_** I'll tell you."** Suddenly the replica pointed directly to him. **"You're dead."**

Ichigo's eyes widened as visions began filling his head, visions of his fight with Aizen, of the war.

"I'm… dead. Aizen, he killed me." Ichigo whispered.

**"You've lost your memory faster than I thought you would. When someone dies, they lose themselves as they pass to the next life. Not us though… we're different, you'll lose your memory but with my power you can live again."** The replica explained.

"No. I remember. The war and going to Hueco Mundo and fighting Aizen." Ichigo countered.

**"And why were you fighting Aizen?"**

"I was…" Ichigo struggled. He couldn't remember.

**"What about your friends… family… Soul Society?"** Ichigo's replica continued. Ichigo tried desperately to remember. He felt as if his head could explode from the pressure he was feeling. _'I can't remember'_

**"But you remember me and Zangetsu, right?"** Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

"I remember you, hollow." Ichigo agreed.

**"Good, now let me tell you something. If you can defeat me one final time, not only can you regain your lost memories, but you can also return to Hueco Mundo. I can give you the power to defeat Aizen. However, if you lose, I will crush your remaining existence and take control of your body. Hurry up though, even as we speak my influence has started dominating your body."** Hollow Ichigo stated.

"There's…something you're not telling me." Ichigo guessed quietly. "And since when did you become so knowledgeable? So willing to give me information without me having to fight it out of you?"

The Hollow grinned, **"I guess you remember more that I had thought. Would you believe almost dying has given me a new perspective?"**

"No… no I wouldn't." Ichigo whispered.

A grin, **"So, what are you going to do about it?"**

"Defeat you."Ichigo said while grabbing Zangetsu.

**"Not this time."** Hollow Ichigo stated while grabbing his own Zangetsu.

Both of them held their zanpakuto in front of them and released a huge amount of reiatsu.

"BAN… **KAI"** They both shouted. The both of them emerging from the outpour of black/white reishi and quickly transforming into their Bankai outfits.

"You say that you will give me your power to kill Aizen, but I know there's a catch."

**"What of it?"** Hollow Ichigo countered.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "Tell me!"

**"You're in no position to make demands."**

"Fine, then I'll beat it out of you." Ichigo said before charging his inner hollow.

**"You can try."** Hollow Ichigo countered.

Within seconds, Hollow Ichigo raised his blade and blocked a full powered strike from Ichigo…

(Las Noches)

Aizen waited for the life to leave Ichigo's eyes before finally removing his zanpakuto. He stared at Ichigo a moment longer before smirking at the dead Shinigami.

"Even in death you intrigue me. Did you really believe you could defeat me? Hm, I guess I'll never know." Aizen said to himself before sheathing his zanpakuto and turning towards his last remaining Arrancar.

"What will we do now Aizen-sama?" Starrk asked.

"We're in no rush. First we'll restore Las Noches to its original form. Then I'll have Inoue revive the Espada. Lastly, since the Hogyoku will activate fully soon, I will make our sole priority to find Vasto Lord and make them join me. You, my dear Arrancar, are all that's left of my army." Aizen explained as he began to walk towards them.

"Where is Wonder…."Harribel stopped when suddenly everyone in the room was hit by a massive blast of reiatsu.

The reiatsu was so powerful that even Aizen had to stabilize himself before he was sent flying.

"What's going on?!" Lilynette screamed over the roar of the wind that was whipping past them.

Aizen's eyes widened as he realized whose reiatsu it was. Swiftly turning around, he and his Arrancar stared at Ichigo's body. Black energy was whirling around him at an incredible pace.

"I thought he was dead." Harribel declared.

"We all felt it…he was dead." Starrk replied.

"He's not movi…" Lilynette wasn't able to finish before Ichigo's hand started clawing at the ground.

_'Interesting'_ Aizen thought as Ichigo slowly got on his hands and knees and the reiatsu failed to let up.

Ichigo's body gradually got on its feet.

"Something's not right here." Starrk stated as they eyed Ichigo, the Shinigami's movements were odd. It was like he was purposely moving at a very slow pace and jerking slightly.

His head turned to Aizen, his eyes still closed.

"How can he produce so much reiatsu?" Halibel stated as Ichigo's eyes abruptly opened wide.

Aizen and his Arrancar didn't know what they were expecting to see but it certainly not what they saw. Ichigo's eyes were pitch black and devoid of any life.

What happened next shocked everyone to their core.

Right in the center of Ichigo's chest a small black dot appeared and gradually grew larger and before any of them realized it a large hole was in the middle of his chest.

_'Is that a hollow hole?_' Harribel thought as Ichigo's left eye suddenly began to secrete a thick white fluid and soon covered the left side of his face. The fluid, as if it had a mind of its own, began shifting and molding.

Within seconds the left side of his face was covered in a white mask that took the shape of a sinister skull with a long horn on top of his mask.

"It can't be." Starrk said in amazement.

"This doesn't make sense." Harribel replied while staring at Ichigo's mask fragment.

Besides the battle damaged Shinigami robes, Ichigo was taking on the appearance of an Arrancar.

Without warning the reiatsu that was leaking from Ichigo's body came to a complete halt and he just stood there, staring at them with his lifeless black eyes.

"What is the meaning of this Kurosaki?" Aizen asked.

No response.

Ichigo looked down and upon seeing his zanpakuto on the floor he grabbed it. Once he did, Tensa Zangetsu transform right in Ichigo's hands and to the size and shape of a regular, all black, zanpakuto, thus making his appearance as an Arrancar complete.

Without warning, he vanished.

Aizen was barely able to block the attack when Ichigo appeared in front of him and attempted to cut him in half.

'_That was…'_ Halibel thought in shock.

Starrk shook his head "Sonido."

Aizen stared into the unresponsive eyes of his opponent, who was forcing him back against a partly destroyed column.

Aizen's eyes were lock on Ichigo, but Ichigo wasn't staring directly at him. He was staring vacantly at the floor behind Aizen.

Aizen slowly came to the realization that the opponent he was fighting now was not Ichigo, it was something else...

_'He's not even looking at me directly while attacking. Can he be fighting with pure instinct?'_ Aizen wondered.

As their swords locked, Aizen was surprised at the pressure "Ichigo" was putting behind his attack. He was about to push the black Zangetsu aside but stopped when Ichigo's darkened eyes stared directly into his own before narrowing.

**"Getsuga Tensho." **

Aizen's eyes widened as reiatsu surged though the black zanpakuto before they were both engulfed in an explosion…

(Ichigo's Mindscape)

**"What's the matter, getting tired Ichigo?"** Hollow Ichigo mocked as Ichigo dodged another Getsuga Tensho and was trying to keep as much space between himself and his hollow as possible.

"I'm not done yet!" Ichigo roared as he shot a Getsuga Tensho right back at his hollow.

Hollow Ichigo batted the weak attack away bare handed.

**"Face it Ichigo, your weak! You've lost." **He said as he vanished quickly and appeared next to Ichigo.

"I have to win."

**"The faster you come to realize that you have no hope, the easier it will be for you to accept it**!" Hollow Ichigo shouted before charging Ichigo and locking blades with him.

"Shut up." Ichigo growled as he struggled to keep himself from being over whelmed.

**"Do want to know why you couldn't control the hollow you became when you fought Ulquiorra. It was because though you have the ability to become a hollow, I have the ability to control it. You're nothing without my power!"** Hollow Ichigo exclaimed.

"That won't be a problem once I beat you."

Hollow Ichigo simply smirked at Ichigo.

**"You'll be surprised what will happen to you if we merge. If you knew, you wouldn't be so quick to kill me."**

Ichigo's eyes narrowed before suddenly raising his hand that wasn't holding his zanpakto and began charging a cero.

**"Nice trick."** Hollow Ichigo stated while raising his arm and charging an identical cero. Ichigo's widened as they both released their cero causing them to be surrounded by an explosion.

When the smoke cleared, both were standing toe to toe with each other.

Hollow Ichigo was smiling at Ichigo as blood dripped from his mouth.

**"The cero was a diversion?"** Hollow Ichigo asked.

"Yeah." Ichigo answered solemnly. Both looked down, Ichigo's zanpakuto was sticking out of Hollow Ichigo.

**"In the end…you were still stronger than me."** Ichigo's Hollow stated, suddenly becoming transparent as spirit particles flew out of his body and were subsequently absorbed by Ichigo.

"What's happening?" Ichigo asked as he began to glow.

**"Didn't I tell you? We're merging."**

"Then why did you say I might regret killing you?"

**"Because, all killing me did was give you power. You have lost your life, when you go back to Hueco Mundo you will be an Arrancar, your only desire will be to kill Aizen and after that you will behave and live like a regular Arrancar."** Hollow Ichigo said. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"You're lying." Ichigo exclaimed, his hollow laughed.

**"Why would I?"** He asked as he vanished completely.

Suddenly the building he had been standing on began to crumble.

"This can't be it!" Ichigo yelled out. All of a suddenly reiatsu began pouring into his body as his hollow completely merged with him.

"Stop!" Ichigo yelled out, but to no avail. Once again, darkness engulfed him…

(Las Noches)

Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette watched as Ichigo shot the point blank Getsuga Tensho and the cloud of debris that now covered the middle of the room. The explosion hadn't been as big as the last cero but it was enough to cause a major explosion.

Without warning, Aizen shot out of the cloud, his right arm cut off from his elbow.

His entire right side was bleeding heavily. Never had he felt so much pain.

'Where is he?'Aizen made no sound and eyed the cloud carefully.

When the smoke cleared Ichigo stood deadly still in the center of the room.

Aizen's eyes widened as he noticed something. Ichigo was suddenly staring right at him, but it wasn't a vacant stare anymore.

Ichigo's now golden- yellow eyes narrowed.

"Aizen." Ichigo spoke in a hollowed tone.

"You're becoming a nuisance." Aizen said before raising his sword.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu" he finished before dropping his zanpakuto.

Ichigo looked undisturbed.

"I must kill you." Ichigo replied and held up his zanpakuto and began releasing an enormous amount of reiatsu, greater than any he had produced before.

"Transcender..."

**_The Ultimate Resurreccion!_**

(Author's note: Ok now for a couple of notes, you might have caught them but I'm just making sure…

1st: Ichigo's body fighting by itself is the result of Hollow Ichigo's will to control Ichigo and Ichigo's desire to kill Aizen.

2nd: If you want to see a visual of Ichigo's Hollow mask fragment it is the picture I have on my profile (Highly recommended because the picture is so bad ass/ Ichigo will look like this, from the neck up, through my entire story. It will be the same mask that Ichigo had when fighting Ulquiorra only it will be half the mask and cover the left side of his face; his eyes will be golden yellow)


	8. Becoming Vasto Lorde

"Shatter: Kyoka Suigetsu."

Ichigo made no indication of being worried.

"I must kill you." Ichigo replied and held up his zanpakuto and began releasing an enormous amount of reiatsu, greater than any he had produced before. "Transcender... Luna Asesinato!"

All of a sudden, Ichigo was engulfed in massive black vortex that began shooting out electric bolts all around him.

Without warning Aizen and his Arrancar were blown away as the reiatsu shot out towards them, and had no choice but to use both Shunpo and Sonido respectively to escape the dark bolts that were striking out randomly.

"How is this possible?" Lilynette scream as they appeared on the sand that filled the outside of Las Noches.

Harribel looked surprised, "Interesting."

"What is he? That Shinigami just resurrected like he's been an Arrancar all his life. His power won't stop increasing." Starrk replied. "This is getting dangerous."

Aizen watched as the ground began to shake and the remaining buildings around Las Noches began to collapse.

_'His reiatsu is potent.'_ Aizen added while deep in thought.

"Aizen-sama, the way Las Noches is collapsing… it's as if he was a top Espada." Starrk said.

"True, his power exceeds yours..."

"What about the human girl?" Lilynette questioned.

"I put her in Szayel's lab, that room won't be destroyed by any means." Harribel assured. All of a sudden Aizen's robe began to glow a dark purple. He quickly reached into his pocket.

The Tercera's eyes landed in the dark purple orb, "The Hogyoku?"

"It's fully awakened. It's reacting to Kurosaki's reiatsu." Starrk concluded.

"He's coming out." Aizen began before putting the Hogyoku back in his pocket. In the back of his mind Aizen was smiling, now that the Hogyoku was awakened he could make a grand army of Vasto Lordes. But he had to stop thinking of that, Ichigo had to be dealt with first.

As they saw the vortex gradually dispersing, the sound of someone using Sonido filled the air as Ichigo appeared.

He stood before them in his, truly fearsome, resurrected state.

The mask that had covered only one side of his face now covered it entirely. The mask had the shape of a sinister skull with long horns protruding out of it. His skin was now the same color as his white mask. His orange hair grew in length. Small tufts of fur circled his wrists, his ankles, and around his collar bone. His entire, monstrous appearance was complete with retractable claws on his finger tips and on his toes. Ichigo looked like a truly formidable opponent complete with a pitch black, standard sized, zanpakuto.

Aizen's couldn't believe this turn of events. He had not expected Ichigo to undergo such a drastic power increase. The reiatsu he was emitting was heavy.

"Incredible." Lilynette said awe struck while Starrk stared at Ichigo; trying to gauge his strength.

Harribel stared incredulously at Ichigo. His power was amazing. It felt like the sky itself was caving in on her. To he, Ichigo's reiatsu was hypnotic almost… alluring.

Without provocation, Aizen raised his remaining arm.

"Hado # 90 Kurohitsugi" Ichigo made no distinction to move out of the way and let the black box trap him.

Aizen was about to use another Kido spell but was interrupted when the box sliced in half revealing Ichigo with his Zanpakuto raised above him.

Aizen's eyes widened.

"Nothing you do will change your fate, Shinigami." Ichigo spoke in a dark tone.

"You speak as if you yourself aren't one." Aizen said to buy himself time, he was still badly wounded from the loss of his arm.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ichigo answered causing Aizen's and his Arrancar to raise an eyebrow. "It doesn't matter. Are you sure you don't want their help?" Ichigo said while motioning to his Arrancar.

"Why? I'm going to finish this right now." Aizen replied while raising his zanpakuto.

Ichigo remained standing without moving an inch; rather his golden eyes were staring at the floor.

"You may have great power, but it is worthless when I am your opponent." Aizen called out calmly, his voice coming from all directions and Ichigo watched as he divided himself into five.

"What will you do Kurosaki? You have no chance of winning against me… Do not forget the Kyoka Sui..."

"_**Vanish**_."

Ichigo slashed at the air directly to his right and, from what looked like thin air, blood began spraying…

The clones dispersed, revealing a profusely bleeding Aizen, who materialized before him.

'_How?'_ Aizen thought confusedly as he tried to stop the blood surging out of his chest.

Ichigo, while under the full effects of the Aizen unstoppable Shikai, was able to detect where the man was hiding. This simple yet unimaginable act showed everyone that was present how unstoppable Ichigo had become.

Aizen immediately dropped his zanpakuto and clutched his chest in pain, as blood continued to pour from it. Unable to find the strength to hold himself up he fell to his knees while doing so the Hogyoku felt out of his robes and rolled to the middle of Ichigo and himself.

Paying it no mind, Aizen looked up and locked eyes with Ichigo.

Ichigo stared down at him, his fierce golden eyes meeting brown ones.

"I never would have thought I would need help to fight you." Aizen stated. Ichigo paid no attention to him and picked up Aizen's zanpakuto and snapped it in half like nothing.

"Your body is broken and now, and so is your weapon. You've lost." Ichigo said while raising his zanpakuto.

"Harribel!" Starrk exclaimed suddenly. Harribel simply nodded.

They still needed Aizen.

"I know." She replied as they both unsheathed their zanpakuto.

"Lilynette stay here." Stark ordered.

"Good bye… Aizen." Ichigo whispered before bringing his weapon down. When it was within inches of Aizen the strike was block by both Espada, both using their zanpakuto to defend Aizen.

The sound that resonated from the three of them crossing blades was massive.

"Don't get in my way." Ichigo said while using his full force to bring his blade down. Both Harribel and Starrk knew instantly that Ichigo could over power them in their unresurrected forms, even if it was both of them. Without a moment's hesitation, both Espada began unleashing a large amount of reiatsu to reinforce their power.

Both were about push Ichigo back, when suddenly the Hogyoku that was directly below where their blades met, began screeching and glowing bright purple.

The three locked by steel immediately looked down and were shocked to see the Hogyoku sprouting tentacles.

"Is this another one of your attempts to save Aizen's life?" Ichigo growled. Starrk made to say something but stopped when the tentacles abruptly shot out and latched onto where the three weapons connected.

They all tried to pull their weapons apart, to no avail.

Within seconds more tentacles latched on, until the Hogyoku was gone and all that was left were the tentacles traveling along their weapons.

Before any of them could drop their weapons the purple strands latched onto the hand that held their weapon and began infusing itself in all three of them. They tried to get if off, but if was to powerful.

"Starrk what's going on?!" Lilynette asked worriedly.

"Don't come near it!" Starrk shouted.

Without warning the three began releasing reiatsu uncontrollably.

"What's going on? I can't control my reiatsu." Harribel asked.

"You are absorbing the Hogyoku." Aizen said weakly as he applied medical kido to heal himself albeit slowly.

_'What does that mean?'_ Harribel thought worriedly.

Light abruptly began shooting out of their bodies and began binding them.

"This light appears when someone uses Caja Negacion." Starrk said while trying to break the binding. Before anyone could say anything else the light engulfed them and they simply vanished leaving Lilynette and Aizen shocked and confused.

When the Hogyoku merged with them, he could feel the orb giving them power. If Starrk had any more power he could challenge his rule. Aizen quickly rid himself of such thoughts and began focusing on healing his grave wounds. Lilynette ran over to Aizen and sat by his side to ask him what happened to her partner.

(Alternate Dimension)

The sound of rushing wind woke Starrk up from his slumber. After a moment of setting his mind right, he remembered what had taken place in Las Noches and upon realization immediately shot up and began looking around.

"Where am I?" Starrk asked as he found himself suspended in mid-air, and not only was he floating, but he was also in the center of a large black vortex.

_'Just like the one Kurosaki created'_ he thought. He reached an arm out and the moment the black wind touched him is skin began to burn.

With a wince he pulled his arm back.

"Damn it. What is this?"

"You're finally awake?"

Starrk recognized the voice and turned around. Though it took him awhile, through the black wind, he saw who had spoken. "Harribel?" Stark asked.

"Yeah."

He could see she was in the same situation.

"Don't touch the vortex." She cautioned.

"Too late." Stark said while rubbing his head. "How long have I been out?"

"I'm not sure; I can't seem to grasp time in this… dimension. I don't know how long we've even been up. More importantly we aren't alone, look to your right."

Starrk followed her instruction and sighed.

Ichigo Kurosaki was trapped in his own vortex, but unlike them he was laying down, unconscious.

"How long has he been like that?"

"I don't know, but we should try to find a way out of here."

"Have you tried Sonido?" Starrk asked, ignoring Ichigo for the moment.

"After you." She replied emotionlessly. The Primera shock his head and silence settled around them for the briefest of moments.

"I don't know why, but this vortex seems to be giving me power. I've been feeling it for a while now." The female Espada mentioned.

"I feel it to. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I think we either somehow absorbed the power of the Hogyoku or it's simply in the process of unlocking our power to its fullest extent." Starrk explained.

"Are you referring to the Segunda Etapa, like Ulquiorra?"

"I'm not..."

Suddenly the vortex that kept the Espada and Ichigo trapped began whipping around faster, cutting off Harribel's and Starrk's vision completely. They could feel a very ominous reiatsu forcing itself into their bodies, the same thing happening to Ichigo.

"What's going on?" Harribel shouted.

"I don't know, all we can do is wait." He replied. Soon the reiatsu became too much to handle and both got to their hands and knees. They were suffocating under all the reiatsu going into them.

_'I can't …control…my power'_ Harribel thought. They both felt as if they were about to fade into darkness before everything came to a complete halt.

Harribel, who was still on her hands and knees and had just recovered, felt as if time had slowed down around her, she looked at one of her hands. It was shaking, "This power. It feels… good." She could feel all the power swelling up inside of her. .

"This power is familiar." Starrk's voice rang out as Harribel gradually got to her feet and looked at him. He was already standing and seemed to be in deep thought. Their power was so great, the air around them crackled with electricity.

"I've never felt anything like this before." As she finished, both were hit by reiatsu stronger than even their own. Harribel and Stark swiftly pulled out their zanpakuto and turned.

Ichigo was waking up.

"How is he doing this? Our power just multiplied and his reiatsu is still overwhelming." He commented, his eyes widening in realization, "I know this power, I felt it in the presence of a…"

"Vasto Lorde?!" Harribel finished in disbelief.

"But how? He's a Shinigami... even when he resurrected his reiatsu was unmistakably that of a Shinigami, but now," He paused, "I can sense it. His reiatsu is that of a hollow's!"

When Ichigo got up fully, both stared at him in surprise. Half his face was still covered with his hollow masks remnants, and even more surprising was the Hollow hole directly in the center of his chest.

"That should be impossible" Harribel whispered. They continued to stare at him as he began looking at his hands. He was no doubt realizing the power he now held, just as the Espada had.

Realizing he might still be a threat, they brandished their Zanpakuto. Harribel seemed hesitant, despite the threat he posed to them. 

They made to charge him simultaneously, stopping when Ichigo looked at them with a confused expression. This in turn confused the both of them.

"Wh... Who are you?" He asked unexpectedly. The two Espada raised an eyebrow and quickly glanced at each other.

"What?" Harribel asked, unsure if she heard correctly.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing here?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

Halibel and Stark were now just as confused.

There was a moment of silence until...

Starrk stepped forward, sheathing his zanpakuto, "Can you not remember?"

"No." The orange haired Vasto Lorde answered as he looked around in the black dimension they were in.

"He's lost his memory." Harribel concluded.

"I think his body has changed so rapidly the past couple of hours. First Aizen killed him, then he fought with only instinct, he somehow skipped the hollow evolution phase and became an Arrancar and now a Vasto Lorde, all while emitting more spiritual pressure than anything I have felt before. We can only guess that he must have lost his memory as a side effect It not that much of a surprise." Starrk answered.

Ichigo continued to look around not paying attention to them.

"What do you remember?" Harribel asked

"I remember my name." Was all that he said.

"Do you remember your friends, Soul Society, or even Aizen." Both noticed Ichigo's golden eyes darken at Aizen's name.

"Aizen, that name is familiar. Soul Society is where the Shinigami reside, and I cannot remember friends." Ichigo replied.

Both Espada had many thoughts fill their mind at this revelation.

"So you know about Shinigami and Hollow?" Starrk asked.

"Yeah, but just some." He winced in pain, as if trying to remember was physically hurting him. "My mind feels clouded. I just see shadows, voice... Who am I?"

Starrk turned to Harribel, he was thoughtful, _'Perhaps... This can turn in our favor.'_

"Aizen will kill him the moment he sees him. You cannot be foolish enough to think differently." She could guess at what he was trying to propose.

"Aizen will have four Vasto Lordes under his "command". When he finds out that Ichigo lost his memory…" Starrk started. Ichigo was looking at them as they talked amongst themselves.

"Aizen will attempt to control him. He could become a threat to us." Harribel reasoned.

"I don't disagree with you, but he has proved immune to Kyoka Suigetsu... the only one that is."

"I for one do not wish to follow the man any longer." She continued.

"An idea we both share. He's going to get us killed and... I cannot risk that with Lilynette."

Harribel seemed to frown, thinking of her fraccion, "We absorbed the Hogyoku, Aizen is useless to us now. If we work together…"

Starrk interrupted, "He is the only one that can bring the Espada together. Do you see Baraggan listening to us without trying to plot behind our backs? What of Nnoritora? Zommari? Convincing them will take time."

"Why do you care for the others? All I care about is..."

"Think about it, Harribel. Aizen will not use the girl to revive Mila Rose, Sung Sung, or Apacci first. They will be some of the last. And..." He grew sad, "I no longer wish to see comrades fall."

Harribel nodded, Aizen would be able to control the other Espada far better than the two of them could.

"Yes, with a new army of Arrancar, two Espada with three Vasto Lorde in charge we will no longer have to deal with Soul Society and their foolish problems." Starrk finished. "But it will take time."

"I agree." Harribel said while they turned to Ichigo. "But first we must…"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, will you join us?" Stark propositioned. Ichigo stared at them unemotionally.

"Why?" Ichigo said before walking over to them. "Do you know me? Are you... my friends?"

For the next hour, both Harribel and Starrk informed Ichigo of the Soul Society and Arrancar war. They told him all about Aizen, the Arrancar, the Espada, and everything Ichigo would need to know if he agreed to join them.

"So you want me to pretend to follow this… fallen Shinigami, until we no longer need him. Then we three will take become the leaders of Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes. Aizen will try to brain wash you into acting as his weapon but don't fall for it." Harribel said, Ichigo nodded.

"So, will you join us? Will you become an Espada?" Stark asked. Ichigo eyes shifted between the two.

"You two are the only ones connected to my past, I have nothing else. I will help you."

Stark nodded, "Let's go." he said before standing up and punching the area in front of him, but instead of hitting the air an opening was made causing a bright light to shine through. Without hesitation, the Primera walked through.

Harribel made to leave next but noticed Ichigo didn't move. When their eyes locked Harribel felt a great urge to look away uneasily.

"It's funny; I didn't ask what your names were." He said.

"He's Starrk, I'm Tia Harribel."

"Tia."

"Call me Harribel." she said. Ichigo face quickly grew solemn while looking at the bright light leading to Hueco Mundo.

"Ok, Harribel… what will I become?" Harribel locked eyes with him for just a little longer.

"What you were meant to be…The bane of Aizen Sosuke... an Espada... A leader..." she said quietly before walking towards Hueco Mundo.

(Author's Note: Wahahaha I'm back. This chapter is my favorite so far because it is the beginning for Ichigo's new life. Please, please, please review. Did you guys like it?

I've gotten e-mails asking where Ichigo's Arrancar mask fragment is located and how it looks. If you want to see a picture go to my profile and see the picture I have. (It is the new hollow mask he received when fighting Ulquiorra and lost control; it is half of that mask and covers only the left side of his face

On another note I have recently gotten reviews and emails about Halibel's and Ichigo's relationship and I have decided. They will get to together, thought it will be difficult I want to keep Halibel canon as much as possible and I don't see her throwing herself at Ichigo lol. There will not be smut or lemons because I don't really want them in my story. Once again please review.)

Technique Meanings

Spanish / English Meaning / User

Trascender: Luna Asesinato/ Transcend: Moon Killer/ Ichigo's Resurreccion


	9. Farewell to Simpler Times

(Chapter 9)

Aizen stood on a nearby sand dune several hundred feet away from Las Noches, next to him was Starrk's other half, Lilynette. Both were staring as millions of spirit particles began flying towards wreckage that was once the Espada stronghold. It had been doing so an hour after Ichigo, Harribel, and Starrk vanished.

At first when spirit particles landed on the wreckage Lilynette was surprised that walls around Las Noches were fixing itself.

"I didn't know it could do that. How can the buildings get repaired?" She said. They both could now see the inner towers of their base getting fixed.

"Barragan was wise when he first began constructing Las Noches. It's created from Sekkiseki, rare in Soul Society but bountiful here in Hueco Mundo. It is created from tightly bound reishi enough... it can repair its own damage. I have long since connected Las Noches to myself. To put it simply for you, it's using my spiritual energy to repair itself." Aizen answered. He had finished applying medical Kido to himself a while ago. His biggest problem was stopping the blood flow that was caused when Ichigo took his arm. The cuts to his chest, albeit deep, were easily healed, though the pain remained.

_'I will have Inoue heal me fully when Las Noches is fully repaired.'_

"Are you sure you want to keep standing Aizen-sama?" Lilynette said, taking her eyes off the stronghold.

"I'm fine." He replied with his regular smile. Lilynette immediately shifted her eyes away from him. Even though Aizen smiled, one could tell it was fake.

He was furious.

"When you told Starrk, Harribel, and Barragan that releasing in Las Noches could destroy it I didn't think this would happen." Although Lilynette was asking questions, she was truthfully trying to get her mind off Starrk's sudden disappearance. Aizen had told her not to worry, but she couldn't help it. Starrk was like her brother, but no matter how worried she was, she knew one thing… she was still alive and that meant Starrk was as well.

"His power was unique." Aizen said, a bit scornfully. Lilynette should have taken his tone as a sign to keep quiet, but asked him one more thing. She knew Aizen wasn't the kind of person that killed because someone asked too many questions.

"Will we have to start all over?"

"Not necessari…" Aizen was interrupted when both he and Lilynette heard the sound of glass shattering, and within seconds felt the reiatsu of someone they couldn't recognize.

Quickly turning around to where the sound had come from, they were shocked at who they saw. Stark was walking through what look like a cracked mirror, several feet from them.

While Aizen was wondering why Starrk's reiatsu felt darker and more potent, Lilynette was trying with all her might to fight back tears.

"Hey Lilynette." Stark said casually as his eyes landed on the green haired Arrancar. Lilynette couldn't help herself and ran towards him.

"STARRK!" She cried out before launching herself and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"What are you doing?" he said while looking down at his partner. Lilynette just hiccupped and wiped off her tears on his coat.

Ignoring the weeping hollow attached to him, Starrk looked up and locked eyes with Aizen.

"Aizen-sama, something has come up." He said in all seriousness.

Aizen raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything another person's reiatsu appeared. This time, out of the same distortion, Harribel emerged followed closely by the one person Aizen did not expect to see.

"Kurosaki... Ichigo." He said in a serious tone, the orange hair Arrancar ignored him and began looking around as if he had never been in Hueco Mundo before.

Noting Ichigo was making no hostile move towards him, he glanced questioningly at the two Espada. Harribel immediately interfered before the scene was misinterpreted.

"We aren't sure what happened, Aizen-sama." She began, "It appears, he's lost his memories."

"Is there a reason he is still alive?" the Ex-Captain watched as Ichigo's eyes shift in their direction.

"Starrk and I wondered if he wouldn't be some use to you, seeing as how the Espada have fallen." Harribel explained. Starrk stepped forward.

"His reiatsu… I know you can sense it. There isn't even a hint of Shinigami..."

Aizen's eyes narrowed _'I feel as if I am in the presence of a Vasto Lorde. The Hogyoku, it connected to his soul momentarily. As it did with Harribel and Starrk… could it be...'_

"That's not all." Starrk said while changing the subject. "Somehow by merging with the Hogyoku, our reiatsu has changed... becoming more potent" Stark added, as Lilynette began squeezing him tightly and continued hiccupping. At this revelation Aizen's mind began reeling.

"How... unexpected." Aizen replied.

Both Espada assumed since Aizen made no move to eliminate Ichigo at this point, he was already finding a use for new Vasto Lorde. "Ichigo Kurosaki." He began.

Ichigo, who was now staring at Las Noches as it repaired itself, quickly turned to Aizen. The shinigami could tell he truly didn't know where he was.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Aizen asked.

Ichigo frowned, trying hard to think of anything, "Nothing... Nothing before Harribel and Starrk. Do you know me?"

Aizen smirk, "I am Souske Aizen, leader of Las Noches and it appears, we might have some use for you."

"Use for me?"

"Starrk, Harribel, take him. We must immediately begin the Espada Revival Process."

"And the Hogyoku? What of that? Can it be extracted from us? Or will you have to make a new one?" Starrk asked.

Though he didn't show it, Aizen was concerned about the power they gained from fusing with the Hogyoku. Their power, he could feel, increased exponentially. He was not a fool; he could tell they were a little less than happy with losing the war. They could prove troublesome, if they decided to challenge his authority. One thing was clear...

"The knowledge to create the Hogyoku resides in the mind of another, though I might have a way of making another one."

Starrk was dwelling on what was said when he noticed Lilynette still hugging him.

"What's gotten into you, baka? You knew I wasn't dead."

Lilynette suddenly pushed away from him, suddenly realizing what she was doing.

"Tch. I knew that, baka, I wasn't cry'n or anything. I was just testing you." Lilynette said, even for her that was a lame excuse.

"Testing me for wha…" He was interrupted when Lilynette brought one of her legs up and kicked Starrk right between his legs, but instead of causing Stark pain it back fired on her. She cried out and began clutching her leg. It felt like she kicked a steel wall.

"Owww. Bakabakabakabaka." She yelled as the Primera yawned.

"Damn. This place was messed up. Who did it?" Ichigo began while motioning to Las Noches.

"It doesn't matter." Harribel cut in. "It's almost fully repaired." All that was left was the dome above Las Noches to be repaired. Aizen made to speak but was halted when Ichigo suddenly unsheathed his sword and swung it so that it rested to his right. His actions merited no explanation because the moment he did so, Wonderweiss had appeared via Sonido and Ichigo's zanpakuto was pressed up against the blonde Arrancar's neck.

"Ohhhhhhhh." Was all Wonderweiss said as he looked at the blade aimed at him.

"He's an ally. He was the first modified Arrancar I created with the Hogyoku, and after today, a complete success." Aizen explained to.

Ichigo nodded and quickly sheathed his blade.

Aizen quickly glanced at the blade _'When did he move?_' "You finished your mission?" He asked Wonderweiss.

The Arrancar simply nodded.

"What took you so long?" Aizen questioned, Wonderweiss merely held out his hand. A dragonfly rested on his palm. Ichigo stared at it in confusion, but since Aizen merely nodded he didn't see it as anything to dwell on.

"What was his mission? No, a better question, what's our mission?" Ichigo asked. As far as Aizen knew, Ichigo joined them blindly. Harribel and Starrk had already told him what Aizen's end game was.

"Wonderweiss was detaining some of my old friends. As for our goal, I'll have someone explain it to you." Before Ichigo could ask anything else, Aizen spoke again.

"Let's go. Las Noches is finished." Everyone simultaneously turned and looked at the fully repaired stronghold. It was as if it was never even touched.

As they began to walk towards the main entrance of Las Noches, Stark thought of something.

"Will Soul Society come after Inoue and…?" Starrk asked Aizen.

"They will try, but they will find it useless. With the help of Szayel and his experiments, I was able to create a device that stops the opening of Garganta from the outside of Hueco Mundo. Only Gin, Tosen, the Arrancar and I could open one successfully now. The device resides in Szayel's lab and will remain activated until it is turned off. We don't have to worry about any more unwelcome intrusions." The Shinigami explained.

It didn't take long for them to reach the main gate and when they finally did, the Arrancar waited for Aizen to tell them what was next.

"I said that we have much to do, but it can wait for tomorrow. I have a couple of things I need to do myself. Harribel, since Kurosaki doesn't know whats going on I want you to fill him in, and give him a tour of Las Noches."

Harribel gave Aizen a light bow.

"Teach him about Las Noches and the Espada. For now he is a top Espada so tell him the rules as well. He should know as much has he can. Also give him information about the Arrancar we will be reviving. I'm sure that when they find out he has joined us, problems will arise. It would be good if he knew something about each of them." Aizen finished. Harribel glanced at Ichigo.

"Yes, Aizen-sama." She answered before turning to Ichigo.

"Let's go."

As they began to walk away, Aizen stopped them.

"Oh, and one more thing, get him a room and some clothes." He added, due to Ichigo was still wearing his battle worn Shinigami outfit. Harribel nodded before they both started to walk away. Aizen stared at them as Ichigo asked Halibel something, he couldn't hear what she had said, but it must have been funny because Ichigo laughed.

"Well I guess Lilynette and I will be heade…"

"Hold on Starrk, I have to tell you something." Aizen waited until Harribel and Ichigo had turned a corner and were out of sight before he spoke.

"Do you think we should keep Ichigo?" Aizen asked. Starrk had expected Aizen to ask that.

"Yes. He should provide the necessary strength needed to help us defeat Soul Society." He answered.

"If he begins showing signs that he remembers his past… kill him. I… we don't need a traitor in Las Noches." Aizen said. Stark stared at his "leader."

"Ichigo's power exceeds my own, even before that he was a match for you." Starrk replied. "I'm not sure what you expect me to,"

"When the time comes, his strength won't be an issue." Aizen added. Lilynette was pretending not to listen and was instead staring at Wonderweiss, who was staring right back at her as if he was examining something. _'What a freak'_ she thought before sticking her tongue out at the odd Arrancar.

"If that is all." Starrk asked.

"One more thing. Lilynette take Inoue something to eat, she should be starving by now. Keep her in the lab though. I don't need her trying to escape. No, better yet, put her in her old room." Aizen explained as he began walking off, Wonderweiss quickly taking off after him.

Lilynette looked up at Starrk, who was staring at Aizen as he walked away.

"Starrk?" Lilynette asked, knowing Stark was deep in thought.

"He said... when the time comes. Not "if" the time comes, but "when". He means to kill Ichigo regardless."

"What's going on?" His partner whispered worriedly.

"I'll explain everything back in our room."

(Ichigo and Harribel)

"Oh, and one more thing, get him a room and some clothes." He added, Ichigo was still wearing his battle worn Shinigami outfit. Harribel nodded before they both started to walk away.

When they were far enough Ichigo asked, "Do hollows shower?"

"Of course we do, don't ask such foolish questions."

Ichigo let out a hollow laugh.

She didn't want to be rude, but being next to Ichigo was starting to make her uncomfortable and she hated feeling uncomfortable. Luckily, Ichigo decided not to ask anymore pointless questions.

"So what will you teach me today?" Ichigo asked.

"I have already explained several things to you so I'll just show you around Las Noches today and you can ask me anything you want to know." Harribel began as they walked along a hallway.

"What are the rules Aizen mentioned?"

"Aizen put these rules into effect to safeguard Las Noches. The top four Espada can't use Grand Rey Cero or use their Resurreccion below the dome or else Las Noches will be destroyed. You are considered a top Espada and as such must follow these rules." Ichigo nodded in understanding.

"So, Las Noches wasn't always here?"

"I'm not sure how it was created." Harribel answered. "The previous ruler of Las Noches, Barragan, created Las Noches far before my time."

"But you're an Espada, you should know." Ichigo said.

"I tend not to ask about things that don't concern me, but I joined when Aizen, not Barragan, was in charge."

"Is Barragan an Espada? Do the Espada transcend Aizen?"

"Yes. I'm not sure what generation Espada I am; I joined when the former third Espada was defeated. An Espada is chosen when one of the present Espada dies or when Aizen creates a new more powerful Arrancar to take another's place." Harribel explained.

"Do you know what number I would be?" Ichigo asked.

"It's difficult to gauge your power, your power is…" Harribel trailed off.

"Harribel?" Ichigo asked. She shook her head and turned away so that Ichigo wasn't looking at her. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I would guess that you would be the new Primera."

"You already told me that the Primera was the strongest rank in the Espada. Isn't Starrk the Primera?" Ichigo asked.

"He would become Segunda Espada."

"Will he get mad?" Ichigo asked.

"No. he is quite lazy and doesn't care about his rank. Barragan on the other hand, will be mad."

"Where is he?"

"We'll get to that later, but know this. Since you might be Primera, all those below you will go down a rank until the last one is taken off the Espada."

"So you'll be the fourth then?"

"Between the two of us, I'm not sure if Barragan is stronger, I can't be too sure. Power levels and ranks are also decided by the abilities one wields."

"And how will Aizen revive the other Espada?" Ichigo asked.

"The girl he was talking about early, the one in the lab. She has the ability to reject fate. She could even revive the dead. Ever since Aizen found this out he had each Espada give him a small piece of our mask fragments. So, if we ever did die, all he would have to do is have the girl use her power and it would be as if the person never died."

"And he's doing this tomorrow." Ichigo realized.

Throughout their conversation Harribel was showing him the Espada's rooms, the meeting room, and the throne room.

"And this room?" Ichigo asked as they came to the last door in that particular hallway.

"Mine." She said, watching him open the door to her room, she didn't care if he wanted to look inside.

When Ichigo looked inside he was expecting something… different. It was a plain white room that opened up to a large balcony. There was nothing to signify that the Tercera Espada lived there.

"It's rather plain." Ichigo said.

"Decorating isn't on my list of things I need to do. Let's go to your room, which should be all for today." Harribel said before pushing him out and closing the door.

They didn't have to walk long because his room was just around the corner.

"It's this one." Harribel said while opening the door.

Ichigo looked inside. It was the mirror image of Harribel's room.

"It's nice." He said while nodding. Harribel raised an eyebrow.

"You just sai… never mind. The clothes are in the closet, just pick out something." She explained.

Ichigo nodded.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Aizen will talk with us in the meeting room."

"After that?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll tell you about the other Espada."

"Got it." Ichigo answered.

Halibel stared at him a moment longer before going into her room, she walked out to her balcony overlooking Las Noches and let out a sigh.

_'Kurosaki Ichigo…'_

(Author's note) Hey everyone, thanks for all the reviews I have for my story. How did you like this chapter? I have gotten several reviews stating I was rushing the story. In this chapter, I hope I went at slower pace. This chapter has a bit foreshadowing on a couple of key points in my story so read it carefully lol. On another note the next chapter I will go back to fake Karakura Town and show what happened to Soul Society and its allies when Ichigo left. Remember it has been several hours since Ichigo has left, so Soul Society will be really confuse.

And remember REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	10. Fallout of Loss

(Chapter 10)

(Recap of Chapter 5)

"Release Captain Kurotsuchi and Inoue at once! You're merely delaying your fate Aizen!" Yamamoto shouted while staring at Aizen. Every Shinigami before him had their zanpakuto drawn.

"Harribel, if you please." Aizen said. With a swift glance to Ichigo, she opened a Garganta.

"Starrk let's go." Aizen said. Without a moment's hesitation Stark pulled the trigger and shot a cero point blank in Mayuri's back, killing the captain instantly.

A stunned expression marred Mayuri's face as life fled his body.

No one had expected it thus they were stunned for several seconds

"Sorry, Captain." Starrk said unemotionally as the captain fell. The sound of Nemu shouting her captain's name filled the air as all the captains suddenly charged Stark who effortlessly evaded them all with Sonido.

While the captains were preoccupied with stopping Starrk, Ichigo charged Harribel. Unfortunately she disappeared with Orihime via Sonido into the Garganta, closely followed by Aizen and Starrk.

Fortunately or unfortunately Ichigo used Shunpo and was able to enter the Garganta right before it completely closed, ignoring the voices of some of Shinigami trying to stop him. It was already too late.

Ichigo knew that entering the Garganta alone was suicide, but he had promised to rescue Inoue no matter what.

_'I'm coming... Orihime!'_

Fortunately or unfortunately Ichigo used Shunpo and was able to enter the Garganta right before it completely closed…

"Kurosaki Ichigo wait!" Yamamoto exclaimed. Also calling out to Ichigo: Rukia, Renji, Chad, and Ishida. Unfortunately, it was already too late, the Garganta had already closed. Before the Captain Commander could issue out any orders Rukia Shunpo'd in front of him.

"We have to go after Ichigo and Inoue!" She yelled.

"Calm yourself Kuchiki; we can't make any rash decisions." He ordered as he sheathed his zanpakto, he knew they had to move fast if they wanted to defeat Aizen. The only problem was that he didn't know how to go about following Aizen and he had to assume the longer they waited the greater Aizen's army grew. Time wasn't on their side.

Byakuya walked over to Rukia along with Komamura while the other Shinigami began spreading around Karakura town trying to be of use. Nobody knew what was going on.

"We should act fast; Urahara should be able to open a Garganta. We can't let Aizen revive the Espada." Komamura stated as Yachiru suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

Zaraki appeared beside them.

"So what do we do now?" Zaraki asked.

"We will help our allies. But first, Captain Kuchiki, find Urahara and bring him here. I must speak with him." With a swift nod Byakuya vanished.

"So you mean to follow Aizen?" Kenpachi asked with a grin, Yamamoto nodded.

"But we must do so carefully. Aizen should have never been able to leave, we won't underestimate him again." The now younger Commander stated. In his mind he planned on how to go about finishing Aizen.

"Captain Komamura, gather all Shinigami to me, I will tell them what to do next. We have much work to do. Tell Vice-Captain Kira to take Vice-Captains Rangiku, Hinamori, and Iba to Captain Unohana. He will assist with the healing along with Vice-Captain Isane and officer Hanataro. Go now." He ordered. Without a word Komamura used Shunpo and vanished. Without a moment's hesitation he turned to Rukia.

"Kuchiki Rukia, gather the humans, they should be let in on what will happen next."

"…Yes Captain." Rukia said before taking off. Yamamoto made to ask something of Shunsui, but halted when said Captain suddenly used Shunpo. Yamamoto knew where he was going; Shunsui had been staring in the same direction ever since the Garganta closed. Ukitake was Shunsui's best friend; it was only right for him to be by Ukitake's side.

Now that he had given his orders and was left alone, he stared at the town below. The town and skies that, moments ago were filled with explosions had become eerily quiet. It was the first time he truly wasn't sure what to do. Many options lay before him and he needed to be sure the right path was chosen, or he would leave the fate of Soul Society to chance. Out of all the years he had been Captain Commander of Soul Society, he had never been confused about the next step to take. Not only had Aizen taken the one woman that could revive his army, but around him were confused Shinigami who needed to be lead. The four pillars were destroyed and Karakura Town had come back. It wouldn't take long for the buildings around them to fall because of all their spiritual pressure and the humans that have yet to wake would be killed.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and descended from the sky onto the roof of a large building.

Within five minutes, one by one, the Shinigami began to appear before him until all the Shinigami that were able to arrive did, with Kenpachi and Komamura closest to him. Hisagi, Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumachika, and even his lieutenant Chojiro were waiting for what would happen next. None of them were shocked to see their new, younger Commander, but there were far more important things to discuss at the moment.

"Where are the others?" Yamamoto asked when he noticed a few shinigami missing.

"Vice- Captain Kurotsuchi is mourning the death of Captain Kurotsuchi and refuses to come, and Captain Kyoraku wishes to remain with Captain Ukitake."

(Medical Area)

Unohana, Kira, Isane, and Hanataro were hard at work trying to save their comrades. Hanataro was healing Momo, who had the least fatal wounds; she was now able to sit up as Hanataro healed her. Kira was healing Iba, who was stable but was severally charred by the cero shot at him. Kira was healing Iba's burnt organs, and concluded he would be fine. Isane healed Matsumoto, who was having trouble breathing because of the wound in her abdomen and was still losing a great amount of blood; she was only able to cry out in terrible pain. If Isane couldn't stop the bleeding soon, Matsumoto would die. Worse off was Ukitake, who currently had a hole in the center of his chest, several deep cuts, and coughing up blood because of his illness, Unohana was working hard healing one of her oldest friends.

"Don't let up, Isane." Unohana stated when she felt Isane's reiatsu shift.

"Sorry Captain." She replied quickly before reinforcing her kido.

"Don't worry Isane; I'm sure Matsumoto will be fine."Unohana said while he Vice-Captain nodded sadly. Unohana quietly looked at each of the injured shinigami. She had no doubt Momo and Iba would be fine, but Matsumoto and Ukitake were very close to death. As she looked down at Ukitake, a lone tear rolled down the side of her cheek. Ukitake was trying to pull through, but he was coughing up blood uncontrollably and when he stopped momentarily he was gasping for air, his eyes never leaving the sky. His facial expression showed one of intense pain and suffering.

"Hold on, Jushiro." She said sadly. Out of all the Captains, Ukitake spoke to her the most, usually about the past; his, hers and Shunsui's time at school. He was one of her oldest friends; they had known each other for hundreds of years.

"How is he Unohana?" Shunsui asked, appearing via Shunpo. Unohana wasn't the least bit surprised by his sudden appearance.

"It doesn't look good." She said solemnly as she looked up at her other friend. Shunsui was staring sadly at Ukitake.

"It's my fault," Shunsui whispered. "If I had been more serious..."

Unohana smiled, "You? Unleash Bankai around all of us? We would have ended up with more casualties. You did what you could." She paused briefly, "I'm trying to stop the bleeding, but with his illness, I'm not sure if…"

"Don't say that." Shunsui interrupted. Unohana sighed before looking over to Isane, Matsumoto was looking worse. _'Such fearsome opponents we faced.'_ She thought sadly.

"Where are Captains Hitsugaya and Kurotsuchi?" Shunsui asked. Unohana looked at him sadly before pointing behind him. Shunsui turned around and saw the outline of two bodies covered by two white sheets. Nemu was crying over one of the figures he knew to be Kurotsuchi.

"Damn you, Aizen."

(With The Captain Commander)

The Shinigami were shocked as Yamamoto continued on, they had expected that they would all invade Hueco Mundo and overwhelm Aizen and his last two Espada, but Yamamoto had a different idea.

"So you plan on sending yourself with five others to Hueco Mundo? Only five?!" Komamura asked incredulously.

Kenpachi smirked, "As long as I'm one, sounds good to me."

"I need the rest of you to guard Soul Society and begin making repairs to the human world." Yamamoto answered. "Captain Unohana will be left in charge in my absence."

"Even if you are leading, wouldn't it be wise to send us all? Any of the lower Shinigami could fix this world." Komamura asked.

"I will not risk Aizen springing another trap for us; some of you will stay in the event of such a thing occurring."

"Who will you send Captain?" Hisagi asked.

"Along with me: Captains Kyoraku, and Zarkai, Vice-Captain Abarai and Madarame Ikkaku."

"And if he has revived the Espada? We don't know how fast the human girl can revive the dead." Komamura stated.

"We don't, but we have no choice. We must put out faith in Kurosaki Ichigo stalling them until we arrive. We will leave when Urahara arrives." While he said this, Yamamoto felt his heart fill with sadness. He could sense that Ukitake was slipping away. He was once more brought out of his thoughts when every Shinigami there was hit by a wave of reiatsu. Though it wasn't nearly enough to affect him, Yamamoto grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto. Everyone began looking around to find out who was causing it. When Yamamoto couldn't find anyone, he immediately knew that if they were allies they would have showed themselves already. After several more moments of waiting, a bright light appeared around every Shinigami's neck. It was so bright that even Yamamoto had to shut his eyes.

"Show yourself." Komamura shouted out.

The bright light lasted for only a couple of moments before it receded and when they were finally able to open their eyes they were shocked to see a glowing chain necklace wrapped around their neck.

"What is this?" Renji asked as a voice rang out.

"That was close. Any longer and Karakura Town could have been destroyed."

"Show yourselves." Yamamoto said.

"Long time no see… Captain." The voice rang out. Suddenly, someone Shunpo'd mere meters in front of Yamamoto. The Commander stared at him a moment before opening his eyes wide.

"Hirako Shinji." Yamamoto whispered. Before anyone could speak seven more people appeared behind the blonde haired man named Shinji. They were people Yamamoto knew who used to be Shinigami before they were exiled.

Yamamoto immediately noticed they had all recently been in a battle since their clothes were battle damaged and some of them seemed to be out of breath.

"So you hid out on earth." Yamamoto said in quietly.

"Who are they Captain?" Komamura asked. Yamamoto didn't answer as Shinji began to walk towards him.

"Are you here for revenge?" The Commander asked seriously.

"I don't really care about you." Shinji replied with a smile. The seven Vizards, and the remaining Shinigami around him were quietly watching the conversation.

"Would I be wrong in assuming that you are on our side then?" Yamamoto stated.

"No we aren't…" Yamamoto quickly proceeded to unsheathe his zanpakuto. "We're on Ichigo's side." Shinji finished.

"Kurosaki Ichigo eh?" The Commander said while sheathing his blade again.

"We would have been here sooner, but Aizen must have realized we would help you. He unleashed a massive "hollow", seemingly made of smoke, which could create Gillian. They weren't a problem but when the hollow breathed on us it made us delusional we ended up attacking each other. The creature itself was surprisingly weak, but it had a very powerful ability." Shinji explained. Yamamoto nodded in understanding. The other Shinigami around their leader were confused. To them, eight mysterious fighters just showed up out of nowhere.

"Don't worry, they are allies." Their leader stated, this eased their minds.

"Eh! It's been a while, is there anyone you guys want to see?" Shinji called out to the other Vizards.

"He can wait." Lisa replied.

"Hell no!" Hiyori yelled.

"The person I want to meet is not here." Hachi stated as the rest said no.

Hisagi was at a loss for words as his eyes landed on Kensei, the man that had once saved his life many years ago. _'No way... I thought he was dead!'_

Kensei did not miss the shocked expression and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"What's this?" Kenpachi interrupted as he grabbed the golden necklace around him, since nobody else asked.

"It is mine…" Hachi answered. "… it functions like Soul Society's limiters. The reiatsu you were all emitting could have destroy Karakura Town." After Hachi explained Shinji introduced the other Vizards to the shinigami and Yamamoto did the same.

"How did Aizen escape and where's Ichigo?" Love asked suddenly.

Yamamoto then proceeded to fill the Vizards in on what had happened with Aizen, the Espada and Ichigo.

"Idiot!" Hiyori yelled to no one in particular.

"He should have known better." Kensei said.

"We were plan…" Yamamoto was unexpectedly interrupted when Isane appeared next to him.

"Vice-Captain Kotetsu Isane reporting." She stated with a bow.

"Proceed." The Commander replied.

"Yes sir. Vice-Captain's Tetsuzaemon Iba, and Hinamori Momo are both in stable conditions. Vice-Captain Matsumoto Rangiku and Captain Ukitake are both in critical condition. Captain Unohana doubts that they will survive." Yamamoto was saddened by her words. "Vice-Captain Marechiyo Omaeda along with Captains Sui Feng, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and Kurotsuchi Mayuri… are dead." Isane said sadly. Everyone was shocked at what was revealed, even the Vizards.

"I will assist Captain Unohana. Perhaps I can be of some use." Hachi said before using Shunpo and vanishing while Shinji was contemplating on what they should do next.

"You said you were planning something." Rose asked Yamamoto.

"Yamamoto was planning on leading five other Shinigami to Aizen and finishing him off." Komamura replied.

"Will you help us?" Hisagi asked the man that had once saved his life. Kensei nodded.

"That's why we're here." Kensei answered.

"We would usually stay out of Soul Society affairs, but Aizen has Ichigo. We can't just stand by." Lisa said.

"We wish to go as well." Ishida said, as both he and Chad made themselves known.

"I do not doubt your strengths, but we can handle it. You can help out here." Yamamoto ordered. Ishida and Chad made to protest but were interrupted.

Both Shinigami and Vizards felt the reiatsu of six people coming towards them. One of them, Yamamoto knew, was Byakuya's.

"I asked that only Urahara come, but the others wouldn't be left behind. It seems Aizen sent them a powerful Arrancar to deal with them." Byakuya said when he appeared, followed by five others. All of them, like Shinji's gang, seemed to be in a recent battle.

"Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yuroichi, Tessai Tsukabishi, Kurosaki Isshin, and… Ryuken Ishida."

Ryuken Ishida was well known to Yamamoto; a Quincy that was of captain level had to be watched closely by Soul Society.

"Father?" Ishida said surprisingly.

"This is Ryuken Ishida, a powerful Quincy." Isshin revealed to those that didn't know who he was.

"All very powerful warriors stand before me. And Kurosaki Isshin… the last person I would have expected to see." Yamamoto whispered.

"Now's not the time to talk about this, we can have a reunion later. Byakuya told me that my son chased after Aizen." Isshin asked seriously.

"Yes. We need Urahara to open a Garganta for us to get to Hueco Mundo. Can it be done?" Yamamoto asked. Byakuya went to Komamura and was filled in on what was going on.

"Of course, I'll get it ready." Urahara answered before using Shunpo.

"I'm going." Isshin said.

"Father, will you go?" Ishida asked.

"I see no more reason to help, they have enough fighters."

"The only reason he came was because we needed help. Aizen sent a single Arrancar to hold off Kisuke, Tessai, and myself while Aizen fought Soul Society." Yuroichi answered. "Isshin and Ryuken came when they sensed our fight."

"Not that it mattered." Ryuken added. He didn't like being surrounded by so many Shinigami. Old habits die hard.

"Did one opponent give you so much trouble?" Yamamoto asked.

"This opponent was surreal; no one of us would be able to hold him off let alone kill him. We couldn't even land a hit on him. His movements were lazy but untraceable. He could have defeated anyone of us if he wanted to, and he suddenly left in the middle of our fight. His sole job was to stop us from aiding you." Isshin explained. "When he attacked it was a critical blow, but the rest of the time he block us off from getting anywhere near here."

"He only spoke his name, Wonderweiss Margera." Ryuken stated. Silence filled the air as everyone thought of how close Aizen was to winning. There were so many things going on now that almost everyone there was confused.

"Captain Kuchiki, tell Captain Unohana that I leave Soul Society in her charge." Yamamoto explained. Byakuya bowed and went to tell her.

Yamamoto stared at the fighters before him. Aizen wouldn't stand a chance against so many powerful warriors.

"I have some bad news." Urahara said suddenly when he appeared before Yamamoto again.

"What is it?" Isshin asked, he was worried for his son.

"The Garganta won't open. This could only mean that Aizen has found a way to lock the dimension." Urahara said sadly. Everyone eyes widened at the revelation.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Shinji asked.

"No…" Urahara was interrupted when he was grabbed by the front of his shirt by Isshin.

"My son is alone in Hueco Mundo. Find a way in!" he snapped, angry with himself for not coming sooner. Urahara stared at him solemnly.

"I can't. Garganta is a straightforward portal. I can't open it anymore." Urahara said. "It will take some time to crack, nothing I can do in a single day."

"How is Aizen able to do this?" Yamamoto asked. They couldn't let Aizen have a chance to attack with full force.

"I'm not sure, but it's the only explanation."

Isshin let go of Urahara.

"Don't do this Kisuke. Don't make me have to tell my girls that their brother is gone."

"Aizen isn't the kind of person that would just kill. Ichigo is probably being kept alive with Orihime. There's no reason for Aizen to kill him." Shinji explained. "He would provide more use as a hostage."

"So Aizen is left to revive the Espada and we can do nothing." Kensei said.

"It appears so." Tessai answered.

"So what's next?" Komamura asked

Yamamoto's eyes closed as he grew deep in thought, "Gather the dead," He finally whispered, sadly "We will see them to a respectful sending."

"If that's all, we will leave. There is no reason for me to stay." Ryuken stated. "Come Uryu, we have much to do." Ishida looked at is dad and sighed.

"Chad, I'll see you later. We're going to train." Ishida said before both father and son vanished. Chad remained standing next to Urahara.

"We're going as well." Shinji said as he made to turn.

"One moment." Yamamoto began. Shinji looked at him.

"Eh?"

"Will you be willing to come back to Soul Society?" Yamamoto offered while shocking everyone there. "We need to repair the gap in Gotei 13. You were once Shinigami. Can you help us?"

Shinji and the other Vizards stared at him.

"You were going to have us executed." Lisa answered.

"Central 46 is gone. I am in charge of Soul Society, under the authority of the Soul King himself."

"We have no desire to join you." Love said.

"Aizen is now a greater threat than before. The Hogyoku is no doubt fully awakened now and Arrancar will be created faster than before." Urahara explained.

"We have to think about it. I for one hate Soul Society but it's not my call. Hachi will stay and help heal the other Shinigami, we'll seeya later." Shinji answered before using Shunpo along with the other Vizards.

"Urahara, I hear you have something that can help Shinigami reach Bankai faster. Can Soul Society use it?" The Captain Commander asked.

"There is a great risk in using it though." Urahara warned.

"Only the stronger Lieutenants will use it." Yamamoto answered.

"I'll bring it to you then." Urahara replied.

"Each Captain and Vice-Captain, starting tomorrow will begin training with each other to build up our strength. The next time we face Aizen we won't lose a single Shinigami." Yamamoto stated.

"Our goal is to rescue Inoue Orihime and Kurosaki Ichigo and bring an end to Aizen." The Commander ordered. "Soul Society will prevail!"


	11. Dawn of Revival

(Recap of chapter 9)

_"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Aizen will talk with us in the meeting room." Halibel explained._

_"After that?" Ichigo asked._

_"I'll tell you about the other Espada."_

_"Got it." Ichigo answered. Halibel stared at him a moment longer before going into her room, she walked out to her balcony overlooking Las Noches and let out a sigh._

_'Kurosaki Ichigo…'_

(Chapter 11)

(The next morning)

Starrk lazily walked down one of the many halls of Las Noches at a deliberately slow pace, his destination; the Espada Meeting Room.

He would be arriving prematurely but he had much to think about on the way there. During the night, events had taken place which confused him and it involved, his partner, Lilynette.

As he turned a corner he began to replay what had happened last night in his mind. It had started when Lilynette came back from putting Inoue in her old room.

Starrk was interrupted for his thoughts by a loud voice which could only belong to his partner.

"STARRK!" The Arrancar screamed. Stark turned around and saw a figure swiftly turn the corner he had just recently turned. The Arrancar stopped just feet away from him.

The girl bent down and placed her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"I told you last night to wait for me, damn it!" Lilynette exclaimed. Starrk looked at Lilynette as she tried catching her breath.

She wasn't the petite little Arrancar anymore.

The female Arrancar in front of him looked like a well-developed nineteen year old. She looked very elegant, and slim. She had long, light green hair with one pink eye since the other was cover by her mask fragment. Instead of the old clothes that she used to wear, she wore a white skirt, black boots that reach her thighs. She also wore a white shirt that tied to her neck and had enough material to cover her upper body. She was completely different, her mask fragment and eye color were the only things that would make others realize she truly was Lilynette.

Lilynette, after several moments, stood up and placed one of her hands on her hip while glaring at Stark.

"I'm going to have to get used to you looking like that." Starrk stated, ignoring her outburst. Lilynette knew he was trying to get out of answering the question.

"You promised we would go to the meeting room together." She said. Starrk locked eyes with her and let out a sigh.

"I promised no such thing; you're just trying to see if Aizen will let you enter the Espada meeting room." Stark said before turning around and continuing to walk towards the meeting room.

"Details, details. But now that you mention it, why shouldn't I? It's not like he has many Arrancar left. And now I'm stronger than ever, I'm probably Espada level thanks to you." Lilynette replied as she walked alongside him.

_'Thanks to me...'_ Stark thought as he remembered what happened the previous night…

(Flashback to the night before)

Starrk was lying on his back as he thought about what Aizen had told him, wondering what would happen if Ichigo regained his memory.

_'Would we have to kill him just to protect ourselves? It would be a pity.'_ He thought as he closed his eyes.

Stark was about to fall asleep when all of a sudden Lilynette appeared in his room by means of Sonido.

"Don't fall asleep idiot! You have explaining to do." The little Arrancar exclaimed. Stark opened an eye and sighed.

"Can't it wait? I want to sleep a bit." Starrk said.

"Hell no!" she yelled. He let out a yawn before sitting up.

"Fine, I'll start at the beginning…" Starrk began to tell her what had happened after Harribel, Ichigo, and he vanished up until they came back to Hueco Mundo. Lilynette was shocked at what was told to her, but she was even more confused then she had been before.

"So you're planning to betray Aizen?" Lilynette asked wide eyed.

Stark frowned, hearing it said so bluntly was off putting.

"But, if you're more powerful now, can't you just kill him now? Why wait?" Lilynette asked.

"Why must we do the work when Aizen is so willing to do it for us? When he creates an army of Arrancar, that's when we'll move. Until Aizen is dead, Soul Society won't leave us alone, so the only way for me to have some peace is for Aizen to be out of the picture." Starrk reminded. Lilynette smirked.

"I knew it; you just want to be able to sleep without being bothered." Starrk shrugged before lying back down.

"But what about us?" Lilynette asked. Stark didn't need her to clarify that question, he knew what she meant.

They couldn't sense each other anymore.

"I'm trying to figure that out." Stark answered. Since Lilynette was equal to his zanpakuto they should always be able to sense each other, but ever since he became a Vasto Lorde it stopped. It was as if…

"It's as if we are two separate beings." Lilynette whispered, she didn't like it.

"Come here Lilynette, I want to try something." Starrk said while standing up. Lilynette walked over to him and waited as he placed a hand on her head.

"Starrk are you sure." Lilynette asked, knowing what he was planning.

"Kick About…" Stark made to release but he couldn't feel his reiatsu strengthen, and Lilynette didn't vanish.

" can't release?" He asked himself. Lilynette shrugged.

"Maybe we are still connected somehow and we have to split apart completely." Lilynette guessed.

"Like you have the power to let me release you, and I have the power to make you an independent Arrancar?" Stark broke down. The green hair Arrancar nodded.

"Maybe I should try giving some of my power to you."

"It's worth a try." Shew smirked.

"I don't know how to go about doing this, but I'll give it a shot." Stark held out his hand and began focusing his reiatsu in his palm.

"Maybe you should focus it in my hollow hole." Lilynette offered. Starrk slowly put his palm on her stomach and forced his reiatsu through her hollow hole. Both didn't sense anything change for a moment, but suddenly Lilynette began to scream as both she and Starrk lost control of their reiatsu and were engulfed by swirling green reiatsu.

"You alright Lilynette?"

"I freak'n fell on my butt you jerk!" Lilynette shouted as the green energy slowly vanished. When the smoke finally cleared Stark turned to look at Lilynette and was shocked at what he saw. She was,

"Gyahhh!" She yelled as she stared at her adult body.

"You're…. an adult." StaRrk whispered.

"I have to find a mirror!" She yelled before running into the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Starrk heard from behind the bathroom doors. Stark closed his eyes and immediately found the source of his power. He held out his hand, and after a sudden burst of light, held his new zanpakuto in his hand.

"It worked, Lilynette." Stark told her, but she wasn't listening.

"I'm a woman! Hey Stark! I'm a beautiful, attractive, slightly petite, but still gorgeous woman!" Lilynette yelled.

"I understand that…"

"NO! Starrk I don't think you do, I'm…" Starrk suddenly heard a loud thud.

Stark raised an eyebrow at her childish antics.

_'Did she collapse?'_

(End Flashback)

He was interrupted once again when Lilynette knocked on his head.

"Waiting for an invite?" She asked as they stood directly outside of the meeting room.

"I was thinking of something." He replied as he knocked on the door. Since there was no reply he walked in and walked to the middle of the long table and sat in his usual seat. Lilynette took the seat next to him, Ulquiorra's seat.

"How early are we?" Lilynette asked.

"About fifteen minutes. Too early for me." Starrk answered.

"Lazy." Lilynette mumbled. Stark ignored her and he put his elbows on the table and locked his fingers together so that he could rest his chin on them, his usual pose when in the meeting room.

"You think Aizen's going to make me an Espada?"

"I can sense that you're as strong as Nnoitora." Starrk commented. "The odds are high that Aizen will make you an Espada. But if he doesn't, don't worry. What he thinks doesn't matter anymore."

"Sorry Starrk."

"Don't apologize." He said lazily.

Currently out on balcony, of his own room, Ichigo stared out at the dome of Las Noches. The fake sky above him was too bright for his liking. He didn't understand why Aizen would put such an eyesore in Hueco Mundo. As he continued to look up his thoughts went to Harribel and all she had told him last night.

She had told him a lot and it was hard to keep track of everything. It was troublesome to remember so much.

He went back inside and sat on his bed, his thoughts straying to the past he could not remember.

He had already taken a shower and picked out what would be his Arrancar outfit. He wore a white Arrancar jacket, black sash, a white hakama and typical Arrancar footwear. It was a regular Arrancar outfit with no modifications.

Harribel had told him that she would be picking him up this morning, but she had yet to come.

His thoughts turned to her; she seemed to act strangely around him last night. Both she and Starrk seemed to be Arrancar he could trust. They were straight forward. Starrk, Ichigo knew, was highly intelligent and perceptive. Harribel seemed quiet and stealthy and there was just something about her that attracted him to her. He couldn't explain it, but it felt good. The feelings were almost familiar.

Ichigo thoughts were unexpectedly cut short when he heard a single knock on his door.

_'That must be her.'_ He thought before walking to the door and opening it to reveal the beautiful blonde Espada staring up at him.

"Morning Harribel." Ichigo greeted. She was thankful that her coat covered her face because she felt her face heat up when she saw Ichigo in his new clothes.

"How is it?" Ichigo said while motioning to his clothes.

"Aizen's probably already in the meeting room. Let's go." Harribel replied; ignoring his question. Since she didn't look like she heard the question, Ichigo passed it off as such.

"Are these meetings usually long?" Ichigo asked as they began to walk down the halls together.

"It depends on what comes up." She answered without looking at him. "Why?"

"Well, you have to teach me about the Espada and everything."

"I know."

"Do you have an idea about what this meetings about?"

"I'm assuming it's about the human girl. Aizen's going to use you to get her to revive the Espada." Harribel answered.

"I know this girl?"

"You used to. She was infatuated with you. A friend."

Ichigo shook his head, "So, she'll do whatever I say?"

Harribel nodded, "Will that be an issue?"

"No, not at all. I used to be a human? It will hurt her, seeing me in the form." Ichigo smiled. Harribel glanced at him a moment before looking away. Ichigo noticed that she seemed very quiet.

"What's her name?"

"Orihime Inoue."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed suddenly, a vision of a girl appearing in his head. More of a shadow, with long orange hair... a soft smile. "Kurosaki-kun..."

"Ichigo?"

He shook his head. He had not realized he had stopped walking. Harribel was a few feet ahead of him.

"It's nothing," He promised, changing the topic. "You seem quiet today."

"Do I? You are the one acting strange."

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Ichigo asked.

Harribel glanced at him, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Remember when I told you about an Espada's right to have fraccion?" Ichigo nodded. "Mine were killed in the war with Soul Society. Fortunately, I copied Aizen's idea and took a piece of their mask fragments. Can you get the girl to revive them?" Harribel asked sadly.

"I'll help you out, Harribel." Ichigo promised.

"I appreciate it." She said as they arrived at the meeting room door.

"This is the door, right?"

Harribel nodded. She knocked once before letting herself.

When they were in, they immediately saw Starrk, but both Ichigo and Harribel were confused about the woman next to him.

"Don't look so confused, it's Lilynette." Stark answered the unspoken question. Harribel raised an eyebrow while Ichigo just nodded uncaringly; he only saw Lilynette once and thus didn't care.

"We were able to split into two completely separate Arrancar." Lilynette added. Harribel locked eyes with the beautiful green haired Arrancar. Lilynette immediately felt uncomfortable and looked away.

"Ichigo, this is Lilynette." Starrk said, formally introducing him. Lilynette smiled at him as he and Harribel walked to the seats adjacent to Starrk and Lilynette. Ichigo smiled right back at her. Harribel appeared annoyed at the act.

"Good, you're all here." Everyone turned to see Aizen walking into the room with Wonderweiss following closely behind him. He took the seat at the head of the table and Wonderweiss sat next to him.

Aizen glanced at Lilynette, and Starrk had to once again explain why she was like this. Aizen didn't seem to think on it too much, but realized the Hogyoku affected them more than he had previously thought.

"You truly have the power of an Espada," Aizen replied. Lilynette smiled widely in victory.

"Now would any of you like tea before we start?" Aizen asked.

Ichigo couldn't help himself and scoffed.

"Tea?" he asked. Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette sighed.

"Is there a problem, Ichigo?" Aizen asked.

"Why do we need tea?"

"I find its properties to be quite soothing. It helps you think," Aizen said while locking eyes with him, Ichigo shook his head "no"

"Then let's start. It comes as no surprise to you, but our first order of business it to revive the Espada which we will start today, with your help of course." Aizen said while motioning to Ichigo, who nodded.

"Have you informed him of the other Espada?" Aizen asked Harribel.

"I was going to after this meeting." She explained.

"We're reviving Barragan first, so on our way to Inoue's room, inform him about the Segunda Espada." Harribel nodded.

"On another note, after you four retired to bed last night, I had Wonderweiss search for powerful Adjuchas so that we could start building our army again. They have already been of some use. It seems three Arrancar were found hiding within Las Noches, they helped aid a Shinigami through Hueco Mundo. Surprisingly enough, it was the former third Espada and her two fraccion. Their names are Pesche Guatiche, Dondochakka Bilstin and Neliel Tu Oderschvank. They are now in separate cells and will be dealt with in time. The Adjuchas found them quickly enough." Aizen explained, while looking at Ichigo to see if it brought back a memory.

"Can I criticize your way of thinking?" Ichigo stated boldly instead of reacting to the news. Aizen and everyone else were surprised at such a question.

"Let's hear it." Aizen asked after a moment of silence.

"We are at war with the Shinigami, but we are reviving Espada that have already fallen to them. We can assume they know all about these Espada. Wouldn't it be smarter to find new Arrancar to take their places?"

"Ichigo, among them Barragan and Ulquiorra were Vasto Lorde. The others have more than proved themselves to Aizen-sama. To not revive them would be a great loss to our military power." Starrk explained.

Ichigo nodded, "I apologize, and so let me change my question. Maybe you should stop thinking about finding powerful Adjuchas and Vasto Lordes and start creating Gillian-class Arrancar as foot soldiers to overwhelm our enemies. Instead of just concentrating on three powerful Adjuchas Arrancar, with the same time you could create one-hundred Gillian Arrancar. I have deduced this from the information I have been told." Starrk actually found that idea to be plausible and immediately liked it. Harribel agreed with that way of thinking as well.

"So you want us to stop finding powerful hollows?" Aizen asked.

"No, I'm saying stop making it your only priority."

"I like that idea." Starrk replied.

"I know I'm too new to speak of such a strategy, but it's just a thought."

"I will think on it." Aizen answered while looking at Ichigo suspiciously. "I must admit, it is rather ingenious."

"We're talking about creating Arrancar, but we don't even have the Hogyoku." Halibel said solemnly.

"This brings us to the most important topic of this meeting. As stated before I alone cannot recreate the Hogyoku and Urahara Kisuke won't willingly help us…"

"So we kidnap him and force him to tell us." Lilynette said with a wide smile.

"He would die rather than tell us. We need all his knowledge and there is only one that can steal it." Both Harribel and Starrk immediately knew what he was talking about. Harribel had to admit the idea was genius.

"You're going to give Urahara to Aaroniero Arruruerie when we revive him." Starrk replied

"Correct." Aizen said with a smile.

"This, Aaroniero, can absorb people?" Ichigo asked.

"Not exactly, he can absorb other Hollows and he absorbed one that can merge with other spirit beings." Harribel explained.

"I see."

"I have explained everything that needs to be said, this meeting is over." Aizen said. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"That's it? Shouldn't we prepare a battle strategy against Soul Society?" Ichigo asked.

"There is no rush. Because of recent events, we will wait. Our priority is creating an army." Aizen explained as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial that contained a white particle which everyone knew was a mask fragment.

"Barragan is waiting." he finished, and with that, everyone got up from their seats and started walking out of the room and towards Inoue's room.

It was time to revive the Espada.

(Author's Note: How was this chapter? Like it? Please review and look forward to the next chapter. The Espada will start to revive!)


	12. Orihime's Sorrow

(Author's Note: Here you go! Another chapter up and ready to be read. Please don't forget to review. Reading reviews gives me a better perspective on how the story is going. Now, please, read and enjoy!

(Recap)

_"I have explained everything that needs to be said, this meeting is over." Aizen said. Ichigo raised an eyebrow._

_"That's it? Shouldn't we prepare a battle strategy against Soul Society?" Ichigo asked._

_"There is no rush. Because of recent events, we will wait. Our priority is creating an army." Aizen explained as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial that contained a white particle which everyone knew was a mask fragment._

_"Barragan is waiting. "He finished, and with that everyone got up from their seats and started walking out of the room and towards the Inoue's room._

_It was time to revive the Espada._

(Chapter 12)

Orihime stood in the center of her room staring up at the moon through the small window that was too high for her to reach. She made no noise; all she did was stare at the only source of light for her dark room; the moonlight that shown down on all of Hueco Mundo.

_'So close…. so close to escaping'_ Orihime thought sadly as her body shook. She couldn't believe she ended up right back in Las Noches, just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach. She thought, when she had first woken up in a lab, that she could maintain a firm resolve as she had done before, but this was too much for her.

"Will they… he come for me?" She whispered, as she looked down at her torn Arrancar outfit. _'They had done so before, but that lead them into a trap. Would they risk doing it again?'_ These thoughts passed in and out of her mind every couple of moments since she had awakened, but they weren't the reason she cried. It was the feeling of loneliness and fear that brought her to tears, as she waited for someone to come.

Last night she had been told, by a green haired girl, that Aizen would come to speak with her today. Orihime wasn't that much of an idiot. She knew the only reason she was back here was because Aizen needed to restore the Espada, and when that time came, would she do it? Even if Aizen threatened her, could she find the strength to say no to that man?

"What will I do?" Orihime cried before falling to her knees and hugging herself as she trembled.

"I hate him." Orihime cried while wiping her tears. "I HATE HIM!" Orihime yelled at the top of her lungs. If anyone she knew heard her, they would have been shocked. No matter what, Orihime didn't hate anything…anything. To hear her say it, with so much conviction, was troubling.

"You sound so distressed, Orihime." A voice whispered. Orihime eyes snapped open and anger filled her entire being as she realized who it was. With trembling hands, Orihime gradually got to her feet and slowly turned around. A gust of wind must have shot through room because Orihime's hair and clothes were whipping around her as she locked eyes with Aizen.

"Aizen." For the first time in her life, sounding furious.

Little did she know, that she was releasing a huge amount of reiatsu.

(Moments after leaving the Meeting Room)

The five Arrancar, with Aizen leading, casually walked down the hall to where Orihime was being kept.

"So what kind of Arrancar is Barragan?" Ichigo asked to anyone that would answer.

"Barragan's an idiot." Lilynette replied. Ichigo smirked.

"I think I'll need more information than that. Harribel told he'll have a problem with me being stronger than him." Ichigo said.

"Barragan Louisenbairn is an elderly Arrancar. He's arrogant, overconfident and he doesn't hesitate to impose his authority over others that are weaker than him. He would even try to command those stronger than him, if given the chance." Harribel informed.

"He sounds like a bother." Ichigo commented.

"He listens to Aizen-sama, but he thinks himself as a king and even acts like it. He has no respect for enemies weaker than him. He will probably try to challenge you." Harribel added.

Aizen smiled. "He shouldn't be a problem for you, Kurosaki."

"I'd rather that there is no confrontation at all." Ichigo said unemotionally.

"Don't worry Ichigo. I know you won't like him, but you're not alone. I don't like him either." Lilynette said with a smile. Starrk sighed. "Don't be disrespectful to Barragan. He's still you superior, and I'd rather not have to confront him because he harmed you for being a nuisance."

"Whatcha talk'n bout Starrk? With my new power ol' ugly face won't stand a chance." Lilynette said with a big smile.

"I already told you that you're only as strong as Nnoitora. You don't have that much power." Stark replied. Lilynette's response was to stick her tongue out.

"Are we reviving all the Espada today?" Ichigo asked Aizen.

"It depends."

"On?"

"It depends on how well Orihime does. I don't know how long it will take her to revive Barragan from a small fraction of his mask." Wonderweiss remained quiet throughout the conversation only staring at the ceiling.

"What's his problem?" Ichigo asked.

"Wonderweiss is…complicated." Aizen replied.

"He's a Vasto Lorde, but he seems harmless." Ichigo asked. Suddenly Wonderweiss turned to stare at Ichigo and began to reach for his purple Claymore type zanpakuto. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, while Harribel, Starrk, and Lilynette merely watched the odd Arrancar.

Aizen glanced at him, "Stop Wonderweiss."

"Ohhh." Was all that Wonderweiss said as he put his hand back down.

"He only liked Tosen." Aizen explained.

"Tosen?" Ichigo said.

"I would have thought Harribel told you about him and Gin." Aizen replied. The truth was that Harribel did tell him about Tosen and Gin, but thought it would be better to act like he didn't know much.

"He was Aizen-sama's ally." Starrk said. Ichigo made to ask something else but stopped when they heard a shout.

"I HATE HIM!"

"Orihime seems upset." Aizen said. As they approached the door they could feel reiatsu.

"Should I go in first?" Ichigo asked, remembering that Halibel said this girl would do anything he said.

"Wait out here until I call you." Aizen said as he opened the door and walked in with the other four Espada. The room was very dark, but they could see Orihime with the help of the moon.

"You sound so distressed, Orihime." Aizen said softly as he stared at the trembling girl.

He watched as she slowly got up and noticed the reiatsu coming off of her was getting higher. He raised an eyebrow, he had never seen her release so much reiatsu.

"Aizen." Orihime said angrily.

"Don't be upset." Aizen said while walking towards her.

"Stay away!" she exclaimed before placing her hands over her Shun Shun Rikka.

"KOTEN ZANSHUN: I REJECT!" Orihime yelled. All of a suddenly a bright light shot out and flew straight to Aizen; who was taken aback at the incredible speed of her attack and swiftly moved out of the way as it barely missed him. He knew the moment she started the incantation that she had used all her hate towards finishing him off with that attack. _'Foolish girl'_

When her attack reached the wall behind him it exploded on contact.

As the wall exploded Aizen watched as Orihime's facial expression turn from angry to hopeless within seconds as her attack failed.

_'What did I expect to happen'_ she thought hopelessly. _'He was a captain. I'm just… I'm just…'_

He watched as tears began streaming down her cheek as she fell to her knees once again.

"I'm impressed Orihime. I have seen you use that attack against Yammy and it was incredibly slow, I actually had to dodge it." Aizen said as the bright light went back to Orihime's hair clip.

"The more emotion behind your powers, the stronger it performs? If so, I can see why it was so fast." Aizen continued. It was then that he noticed Orihime glaring at his arm from behind her tears. Wondering what it was, Aizen looked down and saw that his sleeve was ripped and he was bleeding slightly.

"I didn't know you hated me so much. You put your entire being into that attack." Aizen said casually, but he was really surprised that she had even nicked him with that attack. He could take down some of Soul Society's strongest without being touched, but this girl got him. _'To have so much hate' _he thought, as he continued to look at the weeping girl.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to use your powers for me." Aizen said.

Orihime shook her head defiantly, while wiping away her tears. "I won't help you."

"Don't be unreasonable, Orihime." Aizen replied.

"I won't cause any more problems for Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said sadly as she looked behind Aizen and saw his other Arrancar leaned against the wall.

"Are you going to torture me?" Orihime said fearfully. She wondered where all that anger she had used early was.

"I would never do that to you." Orihime knew she couldn't believe a word he said.

"Kurosaki-kun will come for me again." she said, hoping she had said it threateningly.

"That leads me to another reason why I wanted to visit you. I have someone that wants to talk to you." Aizen explained. Orihime looked at him confusedly.

"You can come in now." Aizen called out. Orihime looked behind Aizen as someone suddenly walked in. Orihime couldn't make out who it was due to the lack of light.

"She can't see you properly from there." Aizen said. Ichigo walked forward and slowly put half of his body into the light so that the human half of his face was showing.

Orihime suddenly gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe who was standing in front of her.

"K…K…Kurosaki-kun." She whispered. She was so happy at that moment that she didn't stop to see everything that was wrong in this picture. If she looked hard she could have seen the outline of his mask, his Arrancar clothes, and the fact that he was with Aizen.

"Are you ok, Orihime?" Ichigo asked, faking sincerity. Orihime's heart started to pound in her chest. Though it was fake, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. Something he couldn't explain. She was, without a doubt, a very important person to him in his past life. For the life of him, he could not remember her.

"It's really you." Orihime said shakingly. She suddenly ran to him and gave him a hug. Ichigo slowly hugged her back.

"I can't believe you're here. How…" She stopped suddenly when she finally realized the clothes he was wearing. She pushed herself away from him and stared at him.

"Why are you wearing those clothes, Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo didn't answer which made Orihime start to feel uneasy.

"Why are you with Aizen?" Orihime asked. Ichigo again didn't answer.

She was about to say something else, but stopped when Ichigo finally stepped into the moonlight fully. Orihime felt her stomach drop when she saw the mask fragment. She could remember when he was fighting Ulquiorra and that mask covered his full head, but at that time he was also out of control. Unfortunately she didn't understand what was going on. All she knew was that this wasn't Ichigo. Even when he became that monster she could sense him, but this Ichigo she couldn't.

"You're not Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said while backing away.

"Calm down Orihime." Ichigo said softly. He hesitated slightly, realizing he was not faking the emotion behind his words.

"Stay back." Orihime said as she walked away from him.

"I am the real Ichigo." He began a little more confidently, "Aizen kidnapped you. I tried to find you, but somehow became an Arrancar, but I'm still the same Ichigo." He explained. Luckily He was talking low enough so that Aizen couldn't hear.

"Kurosaki-kun wouldn't side with Aizen." Orihime said. She didn't want to believe what he was saying.

"I had to, things... got complicated. Please believe me Orihime. Soul Society, they no longer see me as an ally."

She didn't know if it was because she wanted to believe him or because she wanted to stop feeling so confused, but she was starting to think.

_'Maybe he's telling the truth. Soul Society kills hollows, so it would make sense why he's here. Why would he join Aizen though?'_ She thought sadly.

"Will you help us Orihime?" Aizen called from behind Ichigo. Orihime, who had locked eyes with Ichigo, looked away sadly.

"I will help Kurosaki-kun." She said. Aizen smirked and started to walk towards Orihime, but before he got to them, Ichigo leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "I'll talk to you tonight."

Orihime nodded, feeling in her gut that this was wrong. She guessed the only reason why she finally decided to help was because she would be with Ichigo.

"Here you go Orihime." Aizen said while handing her the vial. She slowly grabbed it and dropped the white piece of the floor. 'I shouldn't be afraid. He may not be the same, but he is still Kurosaki-kun.' She thought.

"S…Soten Kisshun: I Reject." Within moments the white piece was engulfed in a bright gold barrier.

"Thank you…Orihime." Ichigo said with a smile.

"Kurosaki-kun, i don't know what's going on. I want to see Rukia, Chad, Ishida... They can help." Orihime said quietly. "I don't want Kurosaki-kun to die, but now that I'm helping you, we'll both be traitors." Orihime said softly.

"Don't worry, you're with me now. I won't let anything happen to you."

She couldn't help but smile.

"Then, I will stay with you." Everyone began to notice the mask fragment growing larger.

"We'll be back, Orihime." Aizen said as he started walking towards the door. Soon after Ichigo and the other Arrancar followed, leaving Orihime to think about what had just occurred.

"Quite the actor." Starrk said unemotionally.

"I got the job done." Ichigo said with a shrug.

"We'll come back in thirty minutes." Aizen said as they split up at the nearest fork in the hallway. Ichigo remained with Harribel, Starrk and Lilynette and Aizen went with Wonderweiss.

"So are you happy that the Espada are reviving?" Ichigo asked.

"It is only a small part in what we need done." Harribel answered abruptly. Ichigo glanced at her.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing at all." Harribel said unemotionally. Ichigo just shrugged causing Harribel to narrow her eyes at the floor.

"Consider yourself lucky, Ichigo. Recently Harribel-sama has been talking a lot. Before you came she hardly ever said more than one or two words. She talks with you a lot, she must like you. I thought she only liked her fraccion." Lilynette said.

Harribel ignored that "blatant lie" while Ichigo sighed.

Starrk was walking ahead of them and looked as if he was in deep thought."Ichigo."

Ichigo quickly stared at him.v"Yeah?"

"Inoue seems to do anything you ask her, am I right?" Starrk asked.

"I don't really know for sure. I have no memories of her so I don't know what our relationship was, but she seemed to do what I asked." Ichigo answered, albeit a little untruthfully. Harribel wondered where this was going.

"Tell her to run everything Aizen asks her to do by you, before doing it." Starrk said.

"Why, Starrk?" Lilynette wondered.

"Because if she only listen's to Ichigo, then Aizen would have no choice but to keep Ichigo here. She'll be safe because Aizen needs her power."

"What do you mean, 'keep me here'?" Ichigo asked.

"Aizen doesn't trust you. He ordered me to kill you if you start remembering your previous life. If I don't, he'll know what we're planning."

"Even if I do remember, I'm a hollow now. My old life is over." Ichigo replied. Starrk nodded.

"Let Inoue in on the plan. She'll follow you no matter what Aizen says. I can tell the way you were looking at her; your words were fake... but your eyes, they were sad."

"I was going to tell her what we are planning tonight, after everyone's asleep." Ichigo explained uneasily, ignoring some of what Starrk had said. Harribel seemed strangely interested when Ichigo said he was meeting Orihime tonight.

"Good. This conversation probably didn't even need to start, but we must be cautious. Aizen is still, probably, smarter than anyone of us." Stark explained.

"We should also start letting the Espada in on what we are doing as well." Lilynette added. The other three Arrancar agreed with her.

"That will be difficult." Harribel stated; Stark nodded.

"Let's worry about that when the time comes." Ichigo replied as they continued to walk down the hall.

(15 Minutes Later)

"Do you think she's done yet?" Lilynette asked as they neared Orihime's door. Including herself; Harribel, and Starrk had already met up with Aizen and Wonderweiss.

"Most likely." Harribel replied.

"Let's just get this over with." Starrk added.

Aizen approached the door and knocked.

"Orihime were back." Aizen said. After several moments of getting no reply, Aizen opened the door and they let themselves in. They didn't expect to see what was happening.

The Segunda Espada had Orihime by the throat and was lifting her three feet off the ground as she tried with all her might to get away.

"Greetings Aizen-sama." Barragan began, looking over his shoulder.

"H…H…Help." She gasped as her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. Before anyone could react, a sharp pain suddenly shot through Ichigo's head as he locked eyes with the gasping Orihime. The pain was so severe that he clutched his head with both hands and went to his knees.

Everyone in the room, besides a confused Barragan, was staring at Ichigo with shocked expressions.

As Ichigo clutched his head he suddenly saw a mental image. It was an image of him in a Shinigami uniform watching as a weak hollow was squeezing Orihime. He didn't know how, but he knew that the hollow was Orihime's brother. The hollow was about to devour Orihime until he came in with an oversized zanpakuto and stabbed it.

As fast as the image came it left, leaving Ichigo on his knees wondering what the hell just happened. Harribel made to put a hand on his shoulder, but quickly caught herself. Ichigo shook his head before standing up once again.

"I'm fine." Ichigo said before anyone asked questions. Aizen stared at Ichigo a moment longer before turning to his newly revived Arrancar.

"Please drop Orihime, Barragan." Aizen said while sporting a smile. Barragan immediately released his grip, allowing Orihime to fall to the ground and start gasping for air.

Aizen paid her no mind and just stared at the aged hollow.

Barragan Louisenbairn, the Segunda Espada, had been revived.

(Author's Note: Please, Please, Please review my story to tell me how this chapter turned out. On another note Orihime won't be turning evil, I will keep her in character as much as I can. She won't want to go out killing with the Espada or anything lol. The only reason she is helping to revive the Espada is because she not only thinks will it help Ichigo in the long run, but it would give her a chance to be with the love of her life. Also she's happy she's not alone in Las Noches anymore because Ichigo is there.)


	13. Ulquiorra

(Chapter 13)

"My apologies, Aizen-sama." Barragan responded almost immediately. "I was merely questioning her." He finished, his hand still wrapped tightly around Orihime's neck.

"No need to apologize."

While they spoke, Starrk glanced over at at Ichigo, who was ignoring everything around them and seemed to be in deep thought. _'Seeing Orihime in danger must be affecting him, possibly remembering something from his past life. It seems he is unsure of what just happened to him though'_ He thought before focusing on the conversation Aizen was having with Barragan.

Stark assumed trouble would start soon.

Every couple of seconds Harribel glanced side-eyed at Ichigo, while Lilynette and Wonderweiss remained quiet.

"May I ask what happened to your arm, Aizen-sama?" The aged Espada asked when he noticed Aizen's missing arm.

"I encountered an unforeseen obstacle." Aizen said simply, no one besides Starrk, Harribel, and Lilynette needed to know that Ichigo wielded a power greater than his own.

"And the fact that we are back in Hueco Mundo, I could only assume we lost..."

"My plan has only been delayed; you will need to be filled in. Much has changed since your death." Aizen explained while motioning to Ichigo.

Ichigo suddenly shook his head to rid himself of the confusing thoughts that ran through his mind and locked eyes with Barragan. From the second he saw the Segunda Espada, Ichigo knew that he wouldn't like the aged Arrancar.

"You're that Shinigami… Kurosaki Ichigo." Barragan began. Ichigo stared unemotionally at him. Starrk and Harribel watched quietly, they could both tell Ichigo didn't like Barragan.

Before anything got out of hand Aizen spoke up.

"Due to unforeseen events Kurosaki Ichigo has become an Arrancar." Aizen explained. "Even more outstanding is that he holds a vast amount of reiatsu." Barragan scoffed.

"So he's on our side now?" Barragan replied, while eyeing Ichigo. "How ironic."

"He will be of great use to us." Aizen said.

"You're just a Shinigami turned hollow; I doubt it." Barragan quipped, already trying to assert his authority over Ichigo. Ichigo simply stared at Barragan and remained quiet.

"You should learn some manners brat, it's rude to stare."

Ichigo stared at him a moment longer before speaking. "You won't lay another hand on Orihime." Ichigo said solemnly. He didn't know why, but he wanted to hurt Barragan for choking Orihime. A carnal desire to keep her safe, even if he couldn't remember caring for her. The more he thought about her, the more confused he was.

Barragan raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's statement. "Ordering me around? If you're going to be working for us as well, you better learn your place boy!" The Segunda snapped.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed and abruptly brought the full force of his reiatsu down on Barragan. An act so sudden that everyone person in the room felt as if they were coming undone by.

Barragan had never felt anything like it, the reiatsu was so powerful it felt as reality was distorting. The air around him thickened and within seconds he was fighting to breath. His whole body seemed to drain, and as his own strength left him, he feel to his knees. _'What is this?!'_ He thought in confusion as pain began to consume him. _'This ominous reiatsu, he can't…'_ He suddenly looked up and made the mistake of locking eyes with Ichigo.

The Espada's eyes widened as piercing gold eyes filled his vision. _'H...H…H...His…reiatsu, it feels… cataclysmic. I can't… draw breath.' _

"Learn my place?" A deep echoing voice called out to him, Barragan could do nothing as Ichigo's eyes seemed to pierce his very existence. "Hold your tongue Barragan Louisenbairn, I will tell you this now… do not enforce your foolish thoughts of supremacy on me. It will only end in your death by my hands. Now I'll tell you again, you won't lay another finger on Orihime!" Ichigo's voice echoed in his mind.

Just as quick as it came, Ichigo's reiatsu vanished and Barragan found himself standing right where he was before he was hit by the "Shinigami turned Hollow's" reiatsu.

"What was that?" The Hollow repeated, noticing that his body began shaking and that he was gasping for air like Orihime had done minutes before.

The Segunda Espada refused to look at Ichigo again.

"You did…that…with reiatsu?" Barragan realized as he felt weak. Though it was only a second, he felt as if he was trapped under Ichigo's gaze for hours.

Aizen looked between Ichigo and Barragan. One moment the Espada was speaking and the next he was shaking uncontrollably. _'So he has the ability to paralyze and suppress even the Segunda Espada' _He thought while looking at Ichigo. _'The killing intent from his reiatsu...'_ Though he was looking at Barragan emotionlessly, Aizen could tell Ichigo was troubled by something.

Starrk, Lilynette and Harribel watched what had transpired and were just as surprised as Aizen.

"Don't worry; we were just coming to an understanding." Ichigo explained solemnly as he walked towards Orihime, who had fainted sometime after she fell. When he passed the Segunda Espada everyone noticed Barragan tense.

"We should let her rest, and then she should heal your arm. Don't you agree Aizen-sama?" Ichigo asked as he picked Orihime up and placed her on her bed. Aizen nodded before turning around and leaving the room followed closely by Wonderweiss. He had much to think about, he now knew that Ichigo seemed to still hold onto a piece of his old self. This would problematic; Ichigo was too powerful to have as an enemy. He had to decide if Ichigo was worth having around.

As he left, Starrk walked up to Barragan. "Welcome back." He whispered while patting Barragan on the back. The Segunda, who was still frozen, immediately shook his head and looked up at Starrk.

"I have much to think about." Barragan replied as he started to walk out of the room. His encounter with Ichigo unnerved him.

"Expect us tonight, we have much to discuss." Starrk called out to him. Barragan ignored him and left the room.

Lilynette unexpectedly began jumping up and down.

"Ha, what did you do Ichigo? He was scared to death!" Lilynette exclaimed.

Harribel stayed leaning on the wall with her arms crossed and Starrk was staring at Ichigo with his hands in his pockets.

"I already told you, we came to an understanding." Ichigo answered, they could tell Ichigo's mind was elsewhere.

"What did you see?" Stark suddenly asked, knowing that Ichigo was thinking about the memory.

"I saw myself protecting Orihime from a hollow that was attacking her." Ichigo replied quickly before looking out the only window in Orihime's room.

"So you only told Barragan to stay away from Orihime because you felt the need to protect her like in your vision?" Harribel spoke up. Ichigo nodded. Harribel was happy to hear that, though she didn't show it.

"Don't worry, I'm not changing." Ichigo said. "I still can't remember anything, even her..."

"I'm not worried; I know that even if you remember your past life, you will still stay on our side." Starrk explained. Ichigo nodded.

"Come to think of it, Barragan didn't notice my transformation." Lilynette said out of nowhere. Everyone there ignored her as she grumbled on about inconsiderate Arrancar.

"Harribel, we'll meet with Barragan tonight while Ichigo is here with Orihime." Starrk began. "I'm tired out."

"Damn it Starrk, don't leave me!" Lilynette exclaimed, seconds later, before using Sonido behind her partner. When they were alone Harribel turned to Ichigo, who seemed to be in deep thought as if something unexpected had occurred.

"What's wrong?" She asked unemotionally as she stared down at Orihime. She didn't like her.

"It's nothing." Ichigo said as he continued to look out of the window.

"Fine." She said before turning around and started to walk out of the room. She wasn't good with talking about internal problems and feelings, especially with the one guy she was uncomfortable around.

"Have you ever…" Ichigo spoke up suddenly, Harribel stopped in her tracks. "…felt like you would lose control of yourself when you wanted to fight some one?" Ichigo asked.

Harribel stared at him a moment. "No." She noticed him tense. "Did you feel like that when you were suppressing Barragan?" she asked.

"No." Ichigo snapped. She knew it was a lie, and she honestly didn't know what he was talking about.

Not knowing what else to say she changed the topic. "Ulquiorra will be revived next. Barragan was forced to accept you because you gave him no other choice, but Ulquiorra is different."

"I killed him right?" Ichigo asked. Harribel nodded.

"He's weaker than Barragan so he should be no problem." Ichigo reasoned.

"It appears so, but Starrk, Barragan, and I knew he was hiding a huge amount of power away. He never explained what it was, but if he had told us about it I'm sure he would have had a higher rank. Just how much of a higher rank I don't know, but he was stronger than he let on. Of course he won't be a problem for you, but I just wanted to let you know." Harribel explained.

"You can tell me more later, I'm going to sleep a bit before coming back." Ichigo said. Harribel locked eyes with him, but immediately looked away. She strangely felt her stomach tighten when she looked at him. He looked at her oddly before walking out.

The truth was he suddenly felt weakened. _'Why did I feel like I was going to lose control of myself?'_ he thought confusedly.

_'I just need to relax'_ he thought as he walked down the long halls of Las Noches towards his room.

Barragan stared out at Las Noches, from the balcony in his room just five hours after his revival, letting his mind process what had happened. He had been in the exact same spot ever since he first entered his room.

_'How could someone release such a huge amount of ominous reiatsu at once?'_ Was the thought that plagued the Segunda Espada.

There was one thing that Barragan knew for sure though, Aizen had never displayed as much power as Ichigo.

He remained quiet a bit longer before he felt a quick spike in reiatsu near him.

"I didn't bother to ask why earlier, but how did that boy become a Vasto Lorde?" Barragan voiced seemingly to himself. "I felt it the moment I first opened my eyes that a Vasto Lorde was in Las Noches." He finished. "One I didn't recognize."

Starrk suddenly appeared before Barragan, he was nothing but serious.

"I don't want to waste time and explain." Starrk replied. "We can save that for a later time."

"I want to know how I can obtain such power as well. The power you three now possess, the power to challenge Aizen."

"You can't." Harribel interrupted as she suddenly walked from behind Stark, with her arms crossed.

"I thought as much." Barragan said with a grunt.

"If you had our power, what we're hoping to use your newfound power on? Ichigo?" Starrk asked.

"To take back Las Noches, of course. I've thought of nothing else ever since Aizen took all of Hueco Mundo from me."

"Don't oppose him alone, Barragan, you won't win." Harribel added.

Without waiting, Starrk began to explain, in little detail, about how the war came to an end. He made sure to leave out Ichigo's rampage through Las Noches and their plan to stop Aizen. Barragan knew he was leaving much out.

"Who took Aizen's arm?"

"Apparently I did." Ichigo voice answered. Barragan tensed when Ichigo used Sonido to appear in front of him, leaning on the rail of the balcony.

_'This child… took Aizen's arm?'_ Barragan thought in surprise.

"Have you told him yet?" Ichigo asked Harribel.

The Segunda Espada raised an eyebrow.

"Starrk was getting to it." Harribel replied.

"Have you finished speaking to Orihime?" Starrk asked.

"Among other things." Ichigo answered. Harribel and Stark looked at him as if asking for an explanation.

"I'll explain later."

"Tell me what!?" Barragan demanded angrily.

"You have nerve to think you could speak to us like that!" Harribel stated dangerously.

"Do not forget, my rank surpasses yours, Harribel." Barragan reminded, momentarily forgetting about his feelings of uneasiness being around Ichigo.

"To me, your number means nothing. To say you are in any way my superior is ridiculous." Harribel replied. Barragan made to speak, but was silenced by Starrk.

"The reason for our visit…" Stark started. "…isn't because we wanted to catch up."

"Then what is the reason?"

"This war with the Shinigami has revealed many things, the most important of which is Aizen's usefulness." Starrk explained. Barragan immediately knew what those words meant.

"You mean to betray Aizen." Barragan asked, a smirk etched on his face.

"When the time is right. We need to know whose side you will be on when it happens." Stark replied.

"This is a dangerous venture you're undergoing; remember I was the first to defy Aizen." Barragan said, remembering when he was King of Las Noches long ago and when Aizen approached him.

"Our power far surpasses Aizen's now. He will be alive as long as he is useful." Ichigo added. Barragan refused to look at Ichigo.

"Are you with us?" Harribel asked.

"I swore to kill Aizen if I was ever given the chance. I never wanted Aizen to lead us in the first place. Besides I too believe Aizen has lost the power to lead us if his arm could be taken by some Shinigami turned Hollow." Barragan explained. Ichigo ignored that comment, not wanting to cause an unnecessary loss.

"Do not misunderstand, Barragan." Ichigo began, "We won't be freeing you from Aizen's leash, merely replacing it with one of our own."

"Breaking free of Aizen's leash would be much harder than to break away from yours, boy. You underestimate the Shinigami. Though, I will join."

"Good answer." Starrk commended, _'One down.'_

Barragan could speak, the door to his room opened to reveal Aizen, followed closely by Wonderweiss.

"I take it you have filled him in?" Aizen asked.

Stark nodded.

"Good, let's us go and witness the revival of another one of your brothers." he continued as he held up another vial containing a mask fragment.

(Thirty Minutes before Starrk and Harribel approached Barragan)

Ichigo let out a long yawn as he woke up; it took him only moments to remember that he had to speak with Orihime.

_'What a pain'_ He wordlessly whispered. All the confusing thoughts of the sudden image of Orihime being choked were gone. Though he soon tried to figure out why he felt that he would lose control of himself.

Finding nothing else to do, Ichigo left his room and began walking down the, now familiar, halls of Las Noches. He walked for several minutes and turned the final corner that lead to Orihime's room. When he finally made it to the door, Ichigo made to grab the door knob when he suddenly heard the cry off a small child.

_'What was that?'_ he thought as he moved away from Orihime's door and looked where the voice was coming from. Being curious, Ichigo walked down the hall a ways and listened as the cries grew louder.

"We's gonna die in here." A voice, Ichigo realized, belonging to a little girl called out.

"Whaaaa. Don't think like that Nel, you're making me crying. Doncha know." Another voice cried.

"Now I'm crying." A third voice added.

Ichigo grew confused and turned the last corner and was soon in a wide corridor and in the center was a large glass box. Ichigo was more surprised when he saw what was in the box.

There were three Arrancar in there banging on the glass. One looked almost bug like, another had what appeared to be a tiki mask, and the last was a small child with a cartoon shaped skull on her head.

They hadn't seen him yet, so Ichigo decided to leave, but before he could turn around the smallest Arrancar saw him.

"Itsygo!" The little Arrancar cried out. Ichigo raised an eyebrow. _'She knows me?'_

"I knew you'd come dere, and save us. Whatcha got a hollow mask one dere side of yer face for Itsygo?" The Arrancar asked. Ichigo remained quiet. The small child, who had started laughing, noticed Ichigo wasn't moving.

"Whatsa madder, Itsygo? Doncha remember me? Doncha remember Nel?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as a memory passed through his mind.

"Ah I wondered what she was doing here. So you were the one that brought her. Well, judging from the look on your face, you must have been lugging her around without knowing who she really is." A very thin and lanky Arrancar with black hair told Ichigo.

'What… do you mean?' Ichigo thought as he looked at the shivering little hollow. The Arrancar let out a chuckle.

"Here's the story, she's Nel. Neliel Tu Oderschvank… A former Espada." Ichigo's eyes widened.

He quickly shook his head to get rid of the vision. _'Another one...'_ Ichigo he thought, grabbing his head. _'Why is this happening?'_

"Itsygo, what's wrong?" Nel shouted. He suddenly locked eyes with her.

He could feel his anger rising.

"Help us Itsygo." Nel cried. Ichigo glared at her held up a hand and began charging a cero. Nel's eyes widened.

"Not like dat Itsygo!" Nel cried, she didn't realize Ichigo was aiming directly at them and not trying to break them out.

"Get out of my head." Ichigo told her. Nel looked at him in confusion.

Ichigo made to release the cero when he suddenly realized what he was doing and cancelled the cero within seconds.

_'What was I doing?'_ Ichigo thought to himself. _'I almost lost control again.'_

"Itsygo?" Nel asked, throughout their "conversation" the other two hollows remained quiet.

"You used to be an Espada?" Ichigo asked trying to get his mind off what had happened and remembering that Aizen said during the meeting that the previous third Espada had been captured. Nel shook her head.

"Nope, I'm Nel." She said with a smile. Ichigo wondered why Aizen would lie.

Before anything else could be said Ichigo turned to leave, he had much to think about.

"Wait, Itsygo! What about us?" She cried. Ichigo didn't know why he said what he said next.

"I'll come back and free you." Nel smiled.

"Nel and her buddies will wait for Itsygo!" Nel yelled. Ichigo simply walked away.

_'Starrk and Harribel don't need to know about this vision. I need to know why I'm starting to lose control though.'_ Ichigo thought. "And… why do I want to help that tiny Arrancar?"

It didn't take long for Ichigo to get back to Orihime's door. Making a mental note not to think about what had happened, he opened the door.

Orihime was looking out of the window like she had done multiple times before.

"Orihime?" he whispered.

Orihime quickly turned around; a smile on her face.

"Kurosaki-kun, I have been waiting for you." She said happily. "What did you need to speak with me about?"

He was taken aback by her calm demeanor.

"Aizen." Her smile fell.

"Oh."

"Me and the other Espada plan to get rid of him." Ichigo said simply.

She looked so relieved she felt tears welling up in her eyes, _'I knew it... It couldn't be true... Ichigo...'_

"Does this bother you?" Ichigo asked.

"No!" She snapped, wiping her tears roughly. "Aizen caused all of this. I don't what him around me anymore. When he's around, he scares me." Orihime said sadly. Ichigo stared at her silently. He knew that he had known her in his past life, but now he could care less if she was scared or not, though he still felt the need to protect her. "So, you were lying about your memory? You were just acting? Kurosaki-kun, you are playing a spy?'

He ignored her questions, "Remember what I said, I'll protect you while you're here." Ichigo said, having to fake sincerity this time.

She smiled. He was about to leave when he noticed the finger marks on Orihime's neck.

"Are you hurt?" Orihime knew what he was talking about and gently touched her neck.

"A little." When she noticed Ichigo staring at it she smiled. "Don't worry about me Kurosaki-kun."

_'I wasn't'_ Ichigo thought.

"Why didn't you heal yourself?" Ichigo asked. Orihime gave him a blank looked for several moments.

"I forgot." She said with a big smile. Ichigo eyed her suspiciously. _'Is she an idiot?'_

"You seem happier. Have you forgotten where you're at?" Ichigo asked, wondering what she was thinking about.

"I miss Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun, Sado-kun, and Rukia-chan, but…I'm with you so I'm happy. Maybe when all this is over, we could go back." Orihime replied.

_'They must be people I used to know'_ Ichigo thought.

"It will take a while for this to come to an end." _'You won't be needed once the Espada are revived. You could go back though, as a thank you for reviving the Espada' _Ichigo thought.

"That's alright, though I do wish I could have a friend here. Too bad Nel-chan isn't here."

Ichigo suddenly remembered Nel and what had happened moments before. "You know Nel?"

"Don't you remember?" Orihime asked.

"Not really." Ichigo replied. She stared at him oddly.

"Don't you remember, she was with us when you fought Grimmjow." Orihime explained.

'Who's Grimmjow?' He wondered, "I have a little bit of amnesia. I only remember certain things."

"Do you remember your family?" Orihime asked concernedly.

"Of course" Ichigo lied. _'She still needs to think I'm the same Ichigo.'_

"I could heal you." She whispered softly.

"No, it's fine. Just tell me about Nel."

Orihime then began telling Ichigo about Nel and how Ichigo protected them multiple times and more importantly Nel's original form and that Nel would do anything for him.

"So…she was an Espada?" Ichigo realized.

"Yup. She saved you from Nnoitora."

"Could you heal her if I brought her to you? It would be a great help to me." Ichigo asked. 'I'm sure that she's still Espada level, the only problem will be Aizen, but I'll deal with it.' Ichigo thought.

"Sure, I like Nel-chan and she's really nice. I would be really happy if she was healed. We could be friends and I won't be lonely if you don't visit me a lot." Orihime said excitedly.

ichigo nodded, "One more thing. Aizen my try to make you do things. If he does, release a small amount of reiatsu to signal me when that happens, I'll come."

Orihime nodded. "I can try."

"Good, don't do anything for him unless I'm with you. Don't trust Aizen, but don't fear him either. Remember, I am with you." Ichigo said while faking concern. Orihime felt protected when Ichigo said this.

"Ok, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime agreed.

"Remember, we didn't have this conversation." Ichigo stated. She saluted him happily.

"I'll bring Nel by later." Ichigo said as he started to walk out of the room.

"Bye-bye Kurosaki-kun" Orihime said happily as Ichigo used sonido.

(Back in Barragan's Room)

"So what else do I have to know about Ulquiorra before he revives?" Ichigo asked as the five walked back towards Orihime's room.

"He's cold, indifferent, and dispassionate. He isn't one to be easily provoked." Harribel began.

"So he should be fine with me becoming a hollow." Ichigo asked.

"I don't know." Halibel said.

"How was he killed?" Ichigo asked. Ichigo knew that he killed the fourth Espada because Harribel had told him, but he wanted Aizen to think otherwise.

Aizen glanced at Harribel.

"Not sure, we weren't here when he died." She played along, and Aizen took his eyes off her.

"He has a habit of stabbing his opponents with his hand where his hollow hole resides." Harribel added as an afterthought.

"That's… interesting." Ichigo replied.

"He takes his orders directly from Aizen-sama." Halibel continued. Ichigo knew that, what Halibel said, meant they would have a problem convincing Ulquiorra.

"Get used to hearing the word trash a lot." A feminine voice added.

Lilynette appeared next to Stark.

"So you're coming?" Starrk asked lazily.

"Sure." Lilynette said simply.

Stark sighed as the group walked a couple more minutes before arriving at Orihime's room.

Aizen knocked.

"Orihime, we're coming in." With that, Aizen opened the door.

Orihime was sitting at a desk, eating. When she heard them walking she turned her head.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said with a full mouth. Ichigo waved his hand in her direction.

"Orihime we are in need of your services again." Aizen stated. Orihime swallowed what was in her mouth and quickly glance at Ichigo before turning her gaze to Aizen.

"Ok." She whispered.

"First, if you would heal my arm." Aizen said as he walked over to her. Orihime slowly walked up to him and held up her hand. _'Do this for Kurosaki-kun'_ she repeated in her mind.

"Soten Kisshun: I Reject."

Aizen was quickly engulfed in the familiar golden light, and almost immediately he began to heal.

"You power never ceases to amaze me." Aizen commented. Orihime refused to look at him in the eyes.

It took only moments, and he smiled as he held up the arm he once lost. "You're getting faster at this." Aizen commented once again.

"Now if you could revive Ulquiorra."

Orihime's eyes saddened. "Ulquiorra?"

Her memories went to when Ichigo and Ulquiorra fought above the dome of Las noches, Ulquiorra's dying breath. When he reached out to her and she could have sworn she had seen sadness in his eyes. In her long stay in Las Noches, she had grown to understand him more than any other Espada. Not only his cruelty, but his empathy.

She took a step back, hesitant to do what he had asked.

Aizen stared at her, while Ichigo looked at her oddly.

_'What is she doing?'_ Ichigo thought nervously.

"Come now Orihime, you said you would help." Aizen took a step forward and released the slightest bit of reiatsu. Orihime was affected by it within a second, but only for a second as the Shinigami felt a hand on his shoulder almost instantly, causing his eyes to widened for the quickest second. _'How fast.'_

"Perhaps, if I asked her." Ichigo said. Aizen remained quiet a couple of seconds before moving out of the way. Ichigo smiled as he walked over to Orihime.

"Are you ok?" Ichigo asked, Orihime nodded.

"See, I told you that I would protect you." Ichigo whispered in her ear. Orihime smiled weakly. Harribel, who only saw Ichigo lean in close to Orihime's ear, arched one of her eyebrows.

"Just heal Ulquiorra, it will be fine." Ichigo said. Orihime nodded. Ichigo grabbed the vial from Aizen and gave it to Orihime.

"Soten-Kisshun: I Reject." She whispered. Once again a bright golden light appeared and engulfed the vial. Ichigo smiled as he walked back and leaned on the wall next to Harribel.

"She will do anything for you."

"She must have had a bad run in with Ulquiorra." He countered.

"He was the one that captured her." Starrk reasoned. "He was in charge of while she resided in Las noches."

"She's pathetic." Harribel interuppted.

Ichigo glanced at her. "You ok?" he asked.

"Yes." She snapped, she could feel the familiar tightening in her stomach again. _'What is this?'_ She wondered as she placed a hand on her stomach. Ichigo just sighed and looked back at Orihime, surprised to see half of the Arrancar's body was already healed.

"Surprised? Don't be, Ulquiorra had the greatest regenerative powers among the Espada." Starrk explained.

The next ten minutes passed by swiftly. Ulquiorra's body was fully healed but had yet to open his eyes.

No words were passed between them as Orihime stopped the healing process; the Espada had opened his eyes.

"What are you doing, woman?" Ulquiorra asked in slight confusion. Orihime stayed kneeling down.

"I'm not afraid of you." She whispered.

"Welcome, Ulquiorra." Aizen said.

"Aizen-sama."

"Rise Ulquiorra, we have much to discuss." Aizen said as he stepped aside to reveal Ichigo. Ulquiorra's eyes widened as he saw Ichigo with a mask fragment.

"What's… going on, Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra asked as he looked up at Ichigo.

"Kurosaki Ichigo has recently undergone a change of heart." Aizen explained simply.

Ichigo stared at the revived Espada curiously. _'So this is the Espada I killed'_ he wondered.

_"No matter how much you look like a Hollow or how similar your moves are the difference between us is like night and day. It's natural that Humans and Shinigami should imitate Hollows in order to grow more powerful. But Humans will never be the equals of Hollows." _

_"If you don't know then I will tell you. This is the true form of despair."_

_"Don't tremble. Don't break your stance. Stay aware of your surroundings. Don't let your guard down for an instant."_

_"...Bind! Murciélago."_

_"Amongst the Espada, my power is ranked the fourth..."_

Many images accompanied by Ulquiorra's voice passed through Ichigo's head. Fortunately this time Ichigo had somehow expected it to happen and wasn't surprised when it did, but could remember all the times he faced off against Ulquiorra and the conversations they held.

_'Ulquiorra Cifer' _

The Quatro Espada addressed Ichigo for the first time, "I once told you that Shinigami could never obtain the power of Hollows… It appears I was wrong."

"It appears you were."

Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo a little longer. _'His reiatsu... unmistakably that of a Vasto Lorde._' "You've changed."

"Are we done, Aizen-sama?" Ichigo asked, turning his back to the Espada, "I'm done here."

"Fill Ulquiorra in like Barragan." Aizen said as he left with Wonderweiss.

"We'll fill you in tomorrow morning." Starrk corrected, "It's late."

"I'm going too." Halibel added.

"Wait Harribel. I need you for something." Ichigo asked. Harribel stared at him unemotionally, but stayed where she was.

Ulquiorra glanced at Ichigo once more, before leaving the room; his mind focused on countless thoughts.

"That went easier than Barragan's revival." Ichigo began.

"I told you he was calm." She replied. "Why did you need me?"

"Do you know Neliel Tu Oderschvank?"

"I do!" Orihime yelled from behind Ichigo. Harribel stared at Orihime before looking up at Ichigo.

"I wasn't an Espada then. I haven't seen her, but I know of her."

"I'm bringing her here so that Orihime could heal her." Ichigo explained.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, she could be a great help."

"Then, I agree with you." She replied.

Ichigo nodded, "Meet me here at midnight then."

Harribel felt the tightening in her stomach get tighter. "Then I'll be here, but don't forget my fraccion." She reminded before using Sonido.

"Orihime."

"Yes Kurosaki-kun.

"I'll be back at midnight, promise." He forced a smiled.

Orihime smiled back, "Ok, Kurosaki-kun."

(Midnight )

"Itsygo, you come back fer Nel!" Nel shouted when Ichigo appeared in front of her.

"Quiet Nel." He snapped. The other two hollows were fast asleep and he didn't want them up.

"Whos dat wit you Itsygo? She's perdy." Nel asked as Harribel appeared behind him. "Ohh I know her. She's da perdiest Espada ever Harribel-sama!"

"Be quiet." Ichigo snapped as he cut the glass box a door without making a sound.

"We're going with Orihime. She's going to heal you." Ichigo explained. Harribel was staring at the odd Arrancar that proceeded to jump on Ichigo's shoulder.

He glared at Nel, but she just ignored him.

"I don't need to be healed, but I'd do it fer you." Nel replied.

"Let's go." Ichigo said as they started to walk down the hall. Harribel was already annoyed by the talkative Arrancar, and was annoyed to see the little Arrancar glaring at her.

"What is yer relationship wit Itsygo?" Nel asked. Harribel glared at her, successfully shutting Nel up the short remainder of the walk.

"Orihime?" Ichigo said from the other side of her door, it door opened seconds later.

"Hello Kurosaki-kun, Nel, Harribel." Orihime greeted.

"Start as soon as you can. I will explain to Aizen when he finds out tomorrow." Ichigo explained as Nel jumped down from Ichigo's shoulder.

"Whatcha gunna do Orihime?" Nel asked happily.

"Heal you." Orihime replied happily.

Nel looked confused, but shrugged. "Okay."

Orihime nodded and rose up her hands. "Soten Kisshun: I Reject."

"Perdy." Nel said as the golden light engulfed her.

"You sure this will work?" Harribel asked.

Ichigo didn't know, it was just a feeling he had.

After 15 minutes of nothing happening, Ichigo made to call it off until Nel suddenly began to shake.

"Nel." Ichigo said. Harribel was confused as well as Orihime.

"Was goin' on Itsygo?" Nel cried.

"Wait a bit longer." Ichigo answered.

All of a sudden she let out a loud cry as she became engulfed in pink smoke.

"This happened last time." Orihime whispered.

Ichigo smirked as he felt the different reiatsu that Nel began emitting.

"It appeared that you were right to heal her. She's definitely stronger than Nnoitora." Harribel whispered, taken aback by the increase of reiatsu. _'That little girl... Can emit this?'_

"She seems loyal to me. That's good for us." Ichigo repeated.

After several moments the pink smoke died down to reveal a an entirely different form; A fully grown curvaceous and well-endowed adult with long waving greenish-blue hair, retaining similar features to her child form, including the scar and the crimson line that ran across her face. Her gown was now torn into a skirt and a top, connected with a single strip across her abdomen. Her skull mask also differed slightly; its features appeared sharper and less cartoonish with a pair of curved horns, but still missing some of its teeth. A large "3" is tattooed on her back, indicating that she was the former 3rd Espada.

Neliel Tu Oderschvank had been revived.

"Orihime?" She asked weakly.

"Hello Nel." Orihime said with a huge smile; within a second she wrapped Orihime in a big hug.

"I'm kinda confused, but I don't care." Nel cried happily.

"Neliel Tu Oderschvank, welcome." Nel suddenly stooped squeezing Orihime and turned around. Her eyes locked with Ichigo and before he knew it, she tackled him to the floor.

"Ichigo!" Nel cried happily. Harribel glared at the former Espada.

"Get off." Ichigo growled. Nel ignored him and continued to hug him. It was then that Harribel reacted faster than she ever had and grabbed Nel by her shirt; throwing her off Ichigo.

"He said "Get off." Halibel snapped.

"Ow!" Nel cried as she hit a wall. Ichigo stared at Harribel oddly, but didn't comment.

"Are you ok Nel?" Orihime asked as the Arrancar rubbed her head.

"I'm fine." She was about to yell at Harribel, but stopped in realization. "Where are Peche and Dondochakka?"

Nobody answered.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone turned to the door as Neliel's eyes widened fearfully.

"Aizen-sama."


	14. Will You Join?

Author's Note:Next Chapter up! Working hard to remaster this story! Got the first two chapters of the Sequel done and am sending to my beta today!

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(Chapter 14)

Ichigo and Harribel turned to Aizen; both unsurprised at the sudden appearance.

Orihime, still fearful of Aizen, hid behind Ichigo while Neliel immediately jumped up from the ground and brushed away some of the dust on her clothes. She too stood behind Ichigo.

"Greetings Aizen-sama, I…" She stopped at the passive gaze Aizen gave her.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear the first time." Aizen began unemotionally as he began to release his reiatsu.

His eyes narrowed, realizing that Ichigo was blocking his reiatsu from hitting Neliel and Orihime.

"You should relax Aizen-sama, too much stress isn't good." Ichigo said impassively as he felt Orihime grab his sleeve for reassurance.

"What is the meaning of this, Kurosaki?"

"I would have assumed it was obvious Aizen-sama." Ichigo replied. Harribel couldn't help but smirk behind her collar.

Aizen stared dispassionately at him.

"I had Neliel in a secured cell. Why did you release her and then proceed to restore her to her former self?"

"I believe that she would be a great help to us."

"I gave you no such order."

"I didn't think I needed one." Ichigo replied.

"Neliel has been deemed a traitor to Las Noches."

Nel stared at Aizen in confusion. _'Traitor?'_

"From my stand point, we need a lot more powerful hollow, besides Starrk, Harribel and I, to fight Soul Society's top fighters. I know that you can feel Nel's power. She will be a great asset to Las Noches.

"Watch yourself, Kurosaki." Aizen replied calmly.

"Aizen-sama, Neliel is very powerful. She may not be as powerful as Ulquiorra, but she is definitely stronger than Nnoitora." Harribel added, assisting Ichigo.

Aizen was taken aback when Ichigo suddenly bowed before the Shinigami, "Please I ask that you reconsider,"

"I'll watch over Neliel for you Aizen-sama." Harribel interuppted, "To keep a closer eye on her."

Aizen already knew enough about Ichigo to figure out what he would do, he would remain adamant in keeping Neliel here. He didn't want Ichigo to openly oppose him, so there was only one option.

After thinking on it Aizen finally spoke. "Kurosaki, Neliel is your responsibility. If she betrays me, you will be found just as guilty as she is." Aizen stated.

"Of course." Ichigo , standing back up as Aizen turned to leave.

"And Kurosaki, don't test me again." Aizen said as he left the room. Ichigo remained staring at the spot Aizen had just occupied.

"As if you could stop me." Ichigo replied just low enough for Haribel, Nel, and Orihime to hear. Nel looked at Ichigo in confusion.

"Ichigo, what do you mean?" Ichigo stared at the former third Espada. Nel was very confused; she couldn't seem to remember clearly. "And why did he call me a traitor, I was always loyal to him."

"Can you remember anything?" Orihime walked from behind Ichigo and stood next to Harribel.

"Everything, but...it's fuzzy," She whispered sadly.

"Then you don't know about the war with Soul Society?" Ichigo asked. Nelliel shook her head.

"I know that Aizen-sama was planning it, he sent us out to find Vasto Lorde all the time. That was back before Nnoitora..." Nel trailed off. Ichigo noticed that she wasn't acting hyper like she was before. _'She's very serious now.'_

"We can get you up to speed of course." Ichigo, with the help of Harribel began to fill Nel in on the war, how they became Vasto Lorde, the Espada revival plan, and about the plan to overthrow Aizen. After twenty minutes of explaining Nel seemed to understand what was occuring.

"So the question remains. Will you help us?" Ichigo asked. Neliel smiled.

"My path… is the path you set for me. I will follow you not matter what Ichigo." Nel answered; Ichigo smiled.

"I feel the same Ichigo." Orihime added.

"Thank you Nel, Orihime." Ichigo replied. He didn't know why, but he was beginning to feel closer to them, if only a bit.

"We can let Starrk know tommorow."

Harribel agreed.

"Then we are done for today, we should get some rest."

"Wait Ichigo." Nel urged, Ichigo glanced at her.

"Pesche and Dondochakka, can Orihime heal them?" Nel asked.

"I see no reason not to, besides you should be asking Orihime." Ichigo replied.

"It's fine; I can heal them for you."

Harribel tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, he turned and saw her holding a vial with three mask fragments in it.

"I forgot, sorry Harribel."

"It's fine." She said quietly and handed over vial to Ichigo.

"These too Orihime." Ichigo said as he threw the vial to Orihime, who barely managed to catch it.

"I'll go get them." Nel said. "Oh thank you Ichigo!" she cried out as she gave Ichigo a hug before running out of the room to get her fraccion.

"I hope she doesn't think that she could do that whenever she wants." Ichigo whispered, Harribel was thinking the same thing.

It didn't take long for Nel to return accompanied by her Fraccion. Both of her Fraccion wore serious expressions.

"Neliel-sama has filled us in on what's happening. Thank you for restoring Neliel-sama to her previous form. We don't have to act like complete fools anymore and it's time to once again be our true selves. Neliel-sama hasn't seemed so happy in a long time. She seems…at peace. That is all Dondochakka and I wanted." Pesche said to Ichigo.

"I, too, wish to thank you Ichigo-sama." Dondochakka added. Ichigo waved his hand.

"Don't thank me; Orihime is the one that will heal you." Ichigo said unemotionally.

"No need to thank me." Orihime said while scratching the back of her head and blushing.

"Can you start?" Halibel asked.

"I'll do you two first." Orihime told Pesche and Dondochakka. Both proceeded to lie on the floor as Orihime instructed them to.

"Soten Kisshun: I Reject" Orihime incanted. Soon both were engulfed by the golden light.

"I'm so happy; it'll be just like old times." Nel said as her Fraccion smiled at her, both were happy to see a smile on their leaders face.

With minutes of getting healed both Arrancar began changing right before everyone's eyes. Pesche's body transformed from bug-like into a human. He had pale white skin, shoulder length blonde hair, and blue eyes. The remains of his hollow mask covered the upper left side of his face with a hole for his left eye to see out of and a short horn at the top of his mask. Dondochakka went through a similar transformation. His body became human; he had short brown hair and brown eyes. His mask fragment took the shape of a white gladiator helmet.

Orihime cancelled out her ability as both Pesche and Dondochakka summoned their respective zanpakuto.

"Thank you, Orihime." Both Dondochakka and Pesche said at the same time. Orihime blushed.

"Pesche, Dondochakka!" Nel exclaimed; hugging both her Fraccion. "I'm so happy your back!"

"So are we, Neliel-sama." Pesche replied. As they continued to hug, Orihime dropped the contents of the vial on the floor.

Harribel smiled internally. Besides Neliel, she was the only Espada that truly cared for her Fraccion.

With Orihime's energy nearly spent, it too much longer to revive the three. It took an hour to revive them to their fullest. During that time Ichigo remained standing, watching Orihime's powers work. He could tell that she was having a difficult time. Harribel, waited in anticipation while Nel began filling her Fraccion in on what was going to happen.

"Nervous?" Ichigo asked, noticing Harribel was tapping her finger.

She looked at him, wondering how he could tell.

"You're tapping your finger." Ichigo voiced softly.

She immediately stopped. "I always do that."

"I'm sure." He replied with a smirk. Harribel continued to look at him, she liked when he smirked.

When she realized what she was doing she turned back to her Fraccion. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore the slight embarrassment she was feeling. Luckily for her, her face was covered all of the time.

One by one, her Fraccion began to open their eyes. Each of them; looking around in confusion.

"Relax." Harribel reassured them.

"Harribel-sama what's going on?" Apacci asked.

"Where are we?" Mila Rose asked.

"Everything will be explained." Harribel replied.

Everyone was suddenly taken aback when Orihime collapsed on the floor, causing her Shun Shun Rikka to break apart before she could end the technique herself.

"She must be exhausted from overusing her abilities." Ichigo told Harribel as he picked up Orihime from the floor.

"Harribel-sama whats going on?" Apacci asked.

"You three were... killed during the war." Harribel answered.

"Orihime was able to heal you." Ichigo said as he laid Orihime on her bed.

"Hey I know you; you're that jerk that was fighting with Grimmjow!" Apache yelled.

"Silence Apacci." Harribel snapped.

"But Harri-," She was interrupted.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo began thinking about that name, which sounded very familiar to him. "I defeated him once." He said to himself, ignoring the insult.

"What's going on Harribel-sama?" Sung-sun asked. Harribel, who was looking at Ichigo in confusion, turned to her Fraccion.

"Much must be explained, wait a little longer."

"Yeah, shut up Sung-sun!" Apacci yelled.

"Quit being a bitch, Apacci!" Mila Rose snapped.

"Don't you start something, too."

"All three of you shut up." Ichigo snapped in frustration.

Silence...

"The girl that just revived you is sleeping. Show some respect." Ichigo ordered.

"Who ar…"

"Silence Mila Rose." Harribel ordered.

"Nel, can you stay with Orihime tonight?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course, Ichigo." Nel replied as she finished explaining everything to her Fraccion.

"Thank you, I'm going to bed." Harribel's Fraccion watched as he stopped to the right of Harribel and whispered something in her ear; placing a hand on her shoulder.

Apache's eye narrowed, she made to yell, but Sung-sung stopped her.

"Harribel-sama doesn't seem to mind." She whispered.

After a moment Harribel nodded and Ichigo walked off.

"Let's go girls; I have much to fill you in on." The Espada said and turned to leave the room with her Fraccion following close behind her.

She felt oddly happy when Ichigo touched her shoulder, a smile hidden behind her mask fragments.

"Fill them in on everything. Make sure your Fraccion can keep a secret; they are very loud and annoying, they could let something slip. After I wake up we will convince Ulquiorra to join us." Ichigo said low enough so that only Harribel heard him.

(10 am- Next Morning)

"GOOOOOODDDD MOOOOORRRRNNNNIIIIINNNNGGGG IIIICCCCHHHHHIIIIGGGGOOO!"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open, jumping up from his bed and looking around wildly for the voice that had just echoed in his head. His heart pounded wildly as he begun to realize that the voice had echoed in his head. Something was occurring between his dreams and awaking.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the voice. After a moment, he looked up at the clock on the wall opposite him.

_'I over slept,'_ He thought to himself trying to remember the dream he had, and the voice... In the dream he knew that man that the voice belonged to but the harder he thought about it now, the faster it slipped away.

Realizing it was pointless, and noticing that someone was approaching his door, he went to it and opened it.

Lilynette was there, fist up and ready to knock.

"What do you want?" He asked tiredly, already knowing the answer.

"You're late, Starrk sent me to come get you." Lilynette answered with a small blush.

"Where are they?"

"Upmost room of tower 3." Lilynette replied, before she could say another word Ichigo used Sonido.

"He's so cute!" She squealed before using Sonido herself.

Ichigo appeared right outside of the highest room of tower 3 within moments and knocked.

"It's Ichigo." He began, opening the door. Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was that the room had many different layers and platforms so that not one platform was the same height. He then noticed the all the Espada and the remaining Fraccion were present.

"You're late." Barragan announced; he was residing on the upmost platform.

_'What a surprise'_ Ichigo thought sarcastically. "Really I hadn't noticed" he replied as he jumped up to the platform that Harribel and her Fraccion were on.

"Let's not start anything, Barragan. It's way too early." Stark complained tiredly as Lilynette appeared next to him. Ichigo looked around and saw Ulquiorra standing completely still with his eyes closed. _'He probably doesn't even know why he's here' _Ichigo guessed as he continued to look around. He was slightly surprised when he saw that Wonderweiss had joined them.

"Why's he here?" Ichigo asked Harribel.

"I'm not sure; he just appeared next to us. We didn't bother to ask him anything." Harribel answered.

"Hi Ichigo!" Nel cried from the opposite side of the room.

"Ichigo-sama." Mila Rose snapped. Ichigo and Harribel turned to the Fraccion. Apache and Sung-sun were pushing Mila Rose towards Ichigo.

"I know." She whispered to her fellow fraccion.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Harribel-sama filled us in on everything. We wanted to apologize for our behavior." Mila Rose said solemnly.

Ichigo stared at them a while before looking away.

"Forget about it." He replied. The three released the breath they had been holding. Harribel had told them that Ichigo's power surpassed Aizen and that they should respect him. They were worried he would despise them for their behavior.

"Isn't this dangerous? I'm sure Aizen is wondering where we are." Ichigo stated for everyone to hear.

"Aizen has locked himself up in Szayel's lab; we are not to disturb him." Starrk explained. "We should get to the reason why we are here."

"Shall we let Ichigo do all the talking; we all know he has a problem with not letting us in on his plans." Barragan stated while motioning to Nel.

"I have no problem with Ichigo reviving the previous Tercera Espada, nor does anyone else besides you." Starrk said defensively.

"Do you have a problem with her, Barragan?" Harribel asked.

"Maybe you feel threatened?" Ichigo said unemotionally. Barragan glared at him, but remained quiet.

"Where's Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

"She's still asleep, Ichigo" Nel answered.

Ichigo nodded. _'She must have been really exhausted from using her powers so much'_

"I'm sure," Nelliel began, "Ulquiorra is wondering why we have gathered without Aizen."

"I have guessed the reason." Ulquiorra replied, eerily calm.

"Your answer?" Ichigo asked.

Silence filled the room as the Arrancar waited for Ulquiorra, who had his eyes closed in deep concentration.

"Aizen-sama gave me this power, why would I…we betray him?" Ulquiorra asked.

"That man is no longer powerful enough to control us. I have said this before when I was king…"

"When you were king. That time has long since passed, hasn't it?" Ulquiorra interrupted. Barragan narrowed his eyes.

"Aizen cannot be trusted to lead us. Ever since the Espada started to fall, Starrk and I noticed that Aizen could care less about us. He just stood, watching over us as; Harribel was pinned down, I faced numerous opponents and Barragan killed. He just doesn't care and I refuse to follow someone who sees us as nothing but tools." Lilynette stated.

"Are you saying that you are betraying Aizen-sama because he wouldn't assist you in your fight against Soul Society?" Ulquiorra asked. "You and Starrk are the only Espada who would be saddened by another's Espada's death."

Lilynette glared at him.

Nel stepped forward, "That's not true!" She snapped, "We aren't beasts! We make bonds, just as easily as Shinigami... as humans. Lilynette and Starrk are not the only ones who are saddened by the loss of a comrade."

"What Lilynette is trying to say is that we need to cast Aizen aside because of his failure to lead properly." Stark interrupted.

"Can you do better?" Ulquiorra questioned.

"I never said I could." Starrk countered.

"Then why would we follow you instead of Aizen?"

"I'd rather follow Starrk than Aizen, I think Starrk could be a good leader." Ichigo commented.

"If you would stop sleeping so much." Lilynette whispered to Starrk before giggling.

"Nevertheless, those who remain loyal to Aizen-sa…"

"Loyal… loyal you say. Is it not you Ulquiorra Cifer, who has been hiding your true power from Aizen? You told me this yourself…Segunda Etapa… you're the only Espada to have such a transformation yet you hide it from Aizen. You also told me that Shinigami are weak and will never be as powerful as Hollows yet you kneel before one willingly. You speak of loyalty to Aizen-sama, yet you had doubts of him way before we did." Ichigo revealed. _'I remember... everything about our can't hide that from me.'_

"Segunda Etapa… a form greater than Resurreccion." Barragan whispered while the other Arrancar were thinking along the same line "Impossible! You! Segunda Etapa! Don't make me laugh, that is nothing but a fairy tale Hollows tell each other to fuel their own desires for greater strength."

Everyone ignored Barragan as Ulquiorra stared at his former rival, their eyes locked. Ulquiorra knew the truth in Ichigo's statement could not be countered. After all it was true; he did doubt Aizen's ability to lead. Still he persisted, "What can Starrk, or even you offer us, which Aizen-sama can't?"

_'Starrk would be the obvious choice to succeed Aizen, but Ichigo seems to have greater potential. I was indeed wrong about him.'_ Ulquiorra thought to himself.

"Nothing. If you want live your life following a Shinigami be my guest, but know this Ulquiorra Cifer… times are changing; the time of Hollows has come. Nel is right, we are not beasts. We will not be treated like them, to be cast aside and revived on the whim of some outcast Shinigami. I cannot fully remember my past, I can't tell you who I was... But now, I am a Hollow; that will not change, and I will fight to take back what was taken from you all. But we must do it together, so... will you follow us?

Whispered of agreement echoed throughout the room, even from the likes of Barragan.

When everyone but Ulquiorra answered, Ichigo turned to him. "Well?" He asked darkly.

Ulquiorra remained quiet for a moment before answering.

"I..."

(Author's Note: So how was it? Not too much happened in this chapter, but this chapter was necessary.)


End file.
